Clarke misses out on the 15-man squad for the summer fixtures.
England have announced their 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy this summer with the only real surprise being the exclusion of Rikki Clarke.
The Warwickshire all-rounder has had a fine start to the County Championship season in 2013 and many had pinpointed him for a place in the ODI team.
Yet the side captained by Alastair Cook will not include the 31-year-old and it now seems Clarke’s time may have passed on the national scene.
The Bears cricketer has done the rounds on the county circuit, playing for both Surrey and Derbyshire as well as his current side and was rewarded with an England call-up in 2003.
Clarke didn’t impress on the five-day scene, playing only two Tests, but he went on to play 20 one-day internationals between 2003 and 2006 – scoring 144 runs and taking 11 wickets.
This modest return saw him dropped from the 50-over side but it seemed that 2013 may be the all-rounder’s last chance in international cricket.
As for the rest of the squad, Somerset duo Jos Buttler and James Tredwell are included, but Craig Kieswetter misses out after breaking his thumb.
Essex batsman Ravi Bopara gets back in the Three Lions set-up after a good start to the season and Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan and Nottinghamshire’s Graeme Swann are both named after being out with injuries.
Clarke’s Warwickshire teammate Chris Woakes keeps his place and Eoin Morgan will join up with the group after spending time in the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Others they are unlucky to miss put include Surrey’s Jade Dernbach, Samit Patel at Notts and Sussex batsman Luke Wright.
The squad will also be used for the ODIs against New Zealand in May.
England squad: Alastair Cook (c) and Ravi Bopara (both Essex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Tim Bresnan and Joe Root (all Yorkshire), Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott and Chris Woakes (all Warwickshire), Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann (both Notts), Jos Buttler (wk) and James Tredwell (both Somerset), Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan (both Middlesex).
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