England T20 World Cup squad: Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue named in provisional group for 2026 tournament but no Jamie Smith or Brydon Carse

Jofra Archer has been included in England's provisional T20 World Cup squad after his Ashes-ending injury, with fellow fast bowler Josh Tongue also named in a 15-player group for February and March's tournament in India and Sri Lanka.

Archer suffered a left side strain during the third Test against Australia in Adelaide earlier this month, ruling him out of the final two fixtures in Melbourne and Sydney.

The 30-year-old will also miss January's white-ball tour of Sri Lanka as he continues his recovery but, all being well, will return for the T20 World Cup the following month as England look to win the event for a third time, after triumphs in 2010 and 2022.

Tongue has earned a maiden T20 call-up after impressing in The Ashes - the Nottinghamshire quick has bagged 12 wickets in two Tests in this winter's series, including a five-for in the recent two-day win at the MCG - and also in The Hundred last summer, when he claimed a tournament-leading 14 scalps for Manchester Originals.

Brydon Carse has not been included with Tongue's selection squeezing him out, but the seamer will deputise for Archer during the preceding three-match T20 series in Sri Lanka.

England can make changes to their squad up until a week before the T20 World Cup, which runs from February 7 to March 8.

All-rounder Will Jacks is involved after missing the white-ball tour of New Zealand in the autumn with a broken finger, although there is no place for Ashes team-mate Jamie Smith, who is also not picked for the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka as Zak Crawley returns to the 50-over squad for the first time since December 2023.

Smith, averaging under 20 in The Ashes with one fifty in eight knocks, opened in his previous three T20Is against the West Indies in June, hitting 60 off 26 balls in the last of those outings, but England are well stocked in that area with Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and Ben Duckett.

Jacks and Tom Banton are also options at the top, although the latter has found a regular role in the middle order of late.

Batter Jordan Cox - Player of the Tournament in The Hundred last summer after starring for champions Oval Invincibles - and seamers Sonny Baker and Saqib Mahmood miss out on the World Cup but all-rounder Sam Curran is included, while Liam Dawson and Rehan Ahmed join Adil Rashid and Jacks in the spin department.

The T20 World Cup will be captain Harry Brook's first in charge at a global tournament with the batter having taken over from Buttler following the dismal Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year in which England lost all three of their group matches.

England reached the semi-finals of the previous T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA in 2024 before losing to eventual champions India, two years after winning the 2022 edition in Australia.

Success at the 2026 tournament would ease the pressure on head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director of cricket Rob Key after the recent Ashes series defeat.