LONDON — England named four uncapped players Thursday in a provisional 30-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales in June. The selectors included uncapped Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance, Warwickshire opener Varun Chopra and seamers James Harris and Chris Wright in the squad which will be cut to 15 players by May 5. “This is a balanced squad which will provide the selectors with strong options in all areas and reflects players' performances for both the senior England teams and the England Lions and EPP squads over the winter period,” said national selector Geoff Miller in a statement. England is hosting the tournament, featuring the best eight One-Day International teams playing across 15 matches in 18 days, for the first time since 2004. The opening game will be in Cardiff on June 6, while the final is at Edgbaston on June 23. Squad: Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Varun Chopra, Rikki Clarke, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, James Harris, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Wright, Luke Wright, Chris Woakes. Faulkner in Ashes frame All-rounder James Faulkner has surged into contention to play in this year's Ashes series in England after being a surprise recipient of a Cricket Australia contract, reports said Thursday. The Tasmanian, who was previously regarded as a limited-overs specialist, leapfrogged recent Test debutant Moises Henriques to earn a central contract for the 2013-14 year, from July. Faulkner does not turn 23 until later this month, but has already played 95 domestic matches for his island state. In November selectors picked an Australia A team laden with all-rounders, including Henriques and John Hastings, to face South Africa, but ignored Faulkner. “While Henriques' skills are skewed in favor of his batting, Faulkner is a better bowler, which is reflected in the left-armer's Sheffield Shield record of 125 wickets at 22.34,” Fairfax newspapers said. Of the nine players who earned contract upgrades in the current 2012-13 year, Faulkner was among the six additions to the base list this time around, alongside Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell and Clint McKay. — Agencies
