Morgan backs ODI stars to opt for Ashes over T20 leagues

England (UK), September 23 (ANI): England's skipper Eoin Morgan has backed Alex Hales and Jose Buttler to change their off-season schedule and fill in the gap in the top order of the Ashes series squad, which is scheduled to be announced this Wednesday.

In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.

Although both the batsmen are purely limited-over cricketers, they do have a fair idea about Test cricket.

It should be noted that both batsmen had missed the season's seven Tests at home against South Africa and West Indies, but England are in dire need of batsmen like Buttler or Hales to support England's Test skipper Joe Root and veteran batsman, Alastair Cook.

Eoin Morgan feels that the Ashes series and World Cup are the most important series for Englishmen and, therefore, insists that the ace cricketers should opt for these tours instead of T20 leagues.

"Jos is going to Bangladesh and Alex is going to Stellenbosch in South Africa. That's their alternative plans.I'd like to see them play in an Ashes series. Ashes and World Cups are the pinnacle of our careers so to see guys playing in that format and doing well would boost confidence massively," cricket.com.au quoted Morgan, as saying

"They have a huge amount of ability in all three formats and if an opportunity presented itself in an Ashes series as opposed to a T20 league, I'd say take the Ashes every time," he added.

Earlier, Alex Hales was included in the Test squad for the home series against Pakistan.

While Hales has managed to score five half-centuries in 11 matches of his Test career, wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Butler has scored six half-centuries in 18 matches with the highest score of 85.

England, who hold the Ashes, travel to Australia for a five-match Ashes series that begins in November. (ANI)