David Willey uncertain over future England opportunities after Australia squad snub

The Yorkshire captain is unsure how he will reclaim a place in the white-ball group after his latest omission for this month's matches

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David Willey is unconvinced his best efforts will be enough to force his way into future England contention after he was omitted from the squad for the Australia white-ball matches.

The 30-year-old made his limited-overs comeback for the world champions in the one-day international series against Ireland, taking eight wickets at 18.50 and finishing as the player of the series after a 2-1 success.

But upon the return of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Sam Curran, and Chris Woakes following a break after the Test match summer, Willey has been dumped for both the ODI and T20 series.

While England were defeating Australia in a thrilling opening T20 at The Ageas Bowl by two runs, Willey was making his maiden outing for Yorkshire in 2020 in their Blast victory over Durham at Chester-le-Street.

He claimed 3-26 as the Vikings won by 29 runs but Willey is worried that such displays might not be enough to force his way back in, with the rescheduled T20 World Cup in India 13 months away.

"Obviously very disappointed to be left out of the squads," the former Northamptonshire man, who turned down an offer to be a reserve for the series," told the Yorkshire Post. "I didn’t feel like being a reserve was the right thing for me if I’m not involved, so I came back to get my teeth into T20 cricket for Yorkshire.

"People always talk about taking your opportunities, and I got another crack against Ireland and, you know, obviously not good enough to hold my spot… so, yeah, just look forward.

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David Willey was back in Yorkshire action on Friday

"I had another crack because of the current climate, which was great, and thoroughly enjoyed playing.

"I feel a bit hard done by, but it’s not me that makes the decisions, so I just have to move on. I don’t make the decisions. I just get the phone call with the bad news and then have to move on again.

"As I say, I couldn’t have done much more against Ireland, and that’s still not good enough, so I just have to come back and try harder."

Willey's omission is all the more curious when you consider England's major flaw in taking wickets with the new ball. Eoin Morgan's team have dismissed just three batsmen in the last 42 powerplay overs in T20Is.

No bowler available to England has taken more than Willey's 83 wickets in the first six overs in all T20 cricket. Therefore, the concern over his future opportunities are understandable.

Asked about what he has to do to convince the selectors, Willey, who was infamously dropped on the eve of the 50-over World Cup last summer, responded: "Bring back football and take a few of the bowlers out? I’m just going to try and perform day-in, day-out for Yorkshire, and if they (England) change their mind and decide I’m good enough to be a part of a squad, then great."

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