ICC Men's World Cup 2023: Door remains open for Harry Brook - Matthew Mott

Media caption,

England v New Zealand: Watch Harry Brook's impressive batting display

Harry Brook could still be called into England's 50-over World Cup squad, says white-ball coach Matthew Mott.

Brook was left out of the provisional squad last month, with England selector Luke Wright saying at the time that initial party would travel to India.

Brook, 24, followed that with a century in The Hundred, plus 48 not out and 67 in the T20 series against New Zealand, although he made only four on Tuesday.

Mott told BBC Sport England are "keeping an open mind".

"What I would say about Harry is that what you want to see from players when they miss out on a squad, is you want them to come out and slam that door down," Mott said.

"And I thought at the start of this series, and with his hundred in The Hundred, he made a real statement.

"Those are all good things that go in his favour.

"It is still open for debate and there will be plenty of good cricket played in the next month so we'll see what that squad ends up looking like."

England's provisional World Cup squad plays four one-day internationals against New Zealand, starting on Friday.

Brook is not in that group but Mott said he will be in the squad to play three ODIs against Ireland which follow.

England have to name their final World Cup squad, plus three travelling reserves, by 28 September - two days after the final Ireland ODI.

Asked if the door is still open for Brook, Mott said: "Yes, it is."

He added: "I think the guys that are in that 15 have got the first crack at it but as we've said throughout, we'll just monitor and see how players are going and make some fine-tuning if needs be.

"There is a lot of cricket before we play that first World Cup game which is nearly a month away. There are plenty of opportunities for players to put their hand up."

Brook has quickly made himself a regular in Tests, where he averages 61.15 after 12 matches with four centuries.

He was also part of England's T20 World Cup win last year but has only played three one-day internationals.

The right-hander was squeezed out of the initial squad by the return of Ben Stokes but a recall would seemingly leave Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone or even bowler David Willey most at risk.

That said, Roy and Malan are top-order players and all-rounder Livingstone also bowls useful spin, compared to Brook's role as a middle-order batter.

"He's a gun player and I believe he is going to be one of the best players of his generation," Mott said.

"It's just an incredibly hard side to select and to squeeze 15 players into it."

England's World Cup campaign, where they defend the crown won in 2019, begins on 5 October against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

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