Mason Crane recalled to England ODI squad for Pakistan tri-series eight years after solitary Test cap

Mason Crane was recalled by England to their one-day international squad for the tri-series in Pakistan on 1 October 2026, nearly eight years after his solitary Test appearance in Sydney. The selection makes Crane the back-up wrist-spinner for the three-team tournament against Pakistan and Sri Lanka later this month.

The tri-series will see the three sides play each other twice in the group stage and is being used as preparation for next year’s 50-over World Cup. Harry Brook’s squad will travel to Islamabad ahead of the tournament, and the competition concludes with a final at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. The round-robin format gives each team multiple group matches before the top two meet in the final.

Jos Buttler will miss the trip because of a recent hamstring tear and Jofra Archer is being rested at the start of a busy winter. There are returns to full fitness for Adil Rashid and Sam Curran, and James Coles has been included in the squad. The most prominent change is Crane replacing Rehan Ahmed as the touring side’s back-up wrist-spinner.

Crane, primarily a bowler, has shown development in recent seasons and added runs this summer, scoring two first-class centuries and taking 51 wickets across formats. Rehan Ahmed struggled for impact during the recent 2-1 victory over Sri Lanka and was dropped for the decider. Henry Crocombe joins the bank of seamers after impressing for Sussex this season ahead of his winter move to Surrey.

Marcus North, England men’s national selector, said: "Mason Crane has been performing consistently for Glamorgan across both formats during the summer. He’s an experienced, high-class leg-spinner who thoroughly deserves another opportunity at international level."

Sonny Baker, having claimed his maiden ODI wicket against Sri Lanka at the Oval last week, is likely to share the new ball with Josh Tongue. Baker is now a three-format England cricketer following his Test debut in June and was recently voted the Professional Cricketers Association’s young player of the year by his peers. Crocombe’s inclusion increases the seam options available in the absence of Archer.

"One of the biggest things I’m trying to do for the rest of my career is to break it down into segments," said Baker, speaking at the PCA Awards in association with Toyota. "So during this next period of time, what am I focusing on? What am I trying to get out of it? "In Pakistan it would be reverse-swing, trying to bang my yorkers, and learn about executing skills in those conditions. Pakistan is not somewhere I’ve been before. "I’m sure that’ll be a very transferable skill to playing in other areas of Asia. I’m really, really looking forward to that – particularly reverse swing, I think caters to my action quite nicely."

England ODI squad: (Yorkshire, capt), Atkinson (Surrey), Baker (Hampshire), Banton (Somerset), Coles (Sussex), Cox (Essex), Crane (Glamorgan), Crocombe (Sussex), S Curran (Surrey), Dawson (Hampshire), Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Jacks (Surrey), J Overton (Surrey), Rashid (Yorkshire), Root (Yorkshire), Tongue (Nottinghamshire).

The squad will fly to Islamabad on 15 October ahead of the tri-series opening on 18 October, with the final scheduled for 31 October at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.