Tomorrow, overshadowed by the hype and glamour surrounding some sporting event in South America, the English Test cricket team will be taking their first tentative steps to rebuild following their Ashes whitewash when they play Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
The team that will be walking out of the Pavilion and onto that hallowed turf on a brisk Thursday morning is almost unrecognisable to the one which arrived in Australia last November confident of securing a fourth consecutive Ashes victory.
Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen have retired. Michael Carberry, Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar and Tim Bresnan have all been dropped from the England squad and have returned to county duties, while Jonathan Trott continues to battle his personal demons.
In their stead, England have called up three debutants in Moeen Ali, Sam Robson and Chris Jordan and recalled a mid-2000s fringe player in Liam Plunkett. Gary Ballance and Chris Woakes, who both debuted last Ashes, have retained their positions.
This squad epitomises the uncertainty dominating English at the moment. The Zimbabwean-cum-Yorkshireman, Ballance, is an exceptional cricketer. Averaging over 50 at county level, he is technically solid, has a wide range of strokes and undoubtedly has the talent to thrive at Test level. Robson, after two hugely successful years opening for Middlesex, is similarly worthy of his call up.
The other four, however, have numerous question marks over their ability to perform at Test level. Ali, albeit an incredibly attractive stroke maker from Worcestershire, averages under 40 in County Division Two. Considering the gulf in class (and pace) between second division trundlers and international bowlers this is worrying, especially considering he is earmarked as first-drop.
The other three players selected can all be classified as “bowling all-rounders” and exemplify England’s cautiousness. The ECB selection policy is akin to the junior cricket method of ‘when unsure who to choose for the last few positions in a team, choose players who can bat a bit and bowl a bit without doing either exceptionally’.
Though this may be harsh on the players who all enjoy successful county careers, the selection of three similar cricketers is odd. Furthermore, their selection has come at the cost of a genuine spinner, with England instead relying on part-timers Ali and Root.
A year from now Australia will land in England full of confidence and determined to retain the Ashes. It seems hard to believe the team they face will look particularly similar to the patchwork squad Sri Lanka plays tomorrow. Though the batting line-up could remain largely unchanged, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad and a thus undetermined spinner, there is only one more fast-bowling position available. Tomorrow will go a long way to deciding who that bowler will be.
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