Next Wednesday, England host the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton for the first of three Test matches, with the other two taking place at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Both the Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford have hotels on-site and so have been used to create bubbles.
England have not played a Test since January, when they toured South Africa, winning the four-Test series 3-1.
The shutdown has been a good thing for the team, with all players now at full fitness, which has created plenty of competition for a place in the final XI, which will be decided after a three-day intra-squad practice match at the Ageas Bowl this week.
Rory Burns has fully recovered from the ankle injury he picked up playing a game of football training for the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town. This means there are at least three batsman going for two opening spots.
Zak Crawley took Burns’ place at the top of the order, partnering Dominic Sibley, who has established himself as England’s number two batsman, scoring a century in Cape Town and averaging 40 in Tests.
As Burns returns to the squad though, I would put him back at the top of the order in place of Crawley. Burns and Sibley look like the opening partnership that England have been crying out for.
Joe Root is set to miss the first Test to be present at the birth of his second child. In his place as captain will be current vice-captain Ben Stokes, who Root feels has said is more than capable of doing a good job.
Ben Stokes (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The West Indies are the current holders of the Wisden Trophy, having regained it at home last year in a challenging tour for England. Lessons have been learnt from that tour and England know not to underestimate their opponents.
While England are playing in their home conditions with the Dukes ball, they won’t have 100 per cent home advantage due to the series being played behind closed doors. The lack of crowds has already led Stuart Broad to consult a sports psychologist to help him create a good mindset when there’s no atmosphere to motivate him.
Next time, I look at how the West Indies have prepared for this series, having spent three weeks in isolation at Old Trafford after arriving in England on June 9.
HR
Roar Rookie
It's a dilemma for them - with two very young players in that top three there's the possibility that Root comes in at two for not many a bit, but Crawley looked good, and their tactic of picking decent County players for the spot hasn't worked. You would hope that they shouldn't have to rotate batsmen - not in the sense of managing workloads anyway. I like that order - Wood likely needs to be managed even when he's bowling well, but in this case he didn't have as much effect as Archer anyway. It's a pity for England that Broad has lost his mettle with the bat - he used to be quite promising at 8.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Firstly, thank you for respecting my views, much appreciated. It's a dilemma really for England - do they keep Denly at number 3, citing his sub-par performance in Southampton as a one-off? Or do they go with the young Crawley, who has just got another good half century? I'm more inclined to go for Crawley. A shame for Denly because he can play well but there's an opportunity here to establish a great, young, top three, one that England has not had for years. It's a start - England won't be going back to the days of Strauss, Cook and Trott but Burns, Sibley and Crawley are certainly a good package. Team selection also depends on how (and if) England are going to carry out the rotation of players, with six tests in less than two months with little time in between tests. A good XI would be: Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root (c), Stokes, Pope, Buttler (wk - who England are still keeping as keeper so no point being hypothetical), Bess, Archer, Broad, Anderson. (Unless Bess can get a few runs on the board, I think he should be moved down the order because he's a great spinner but not so good a batter and so not so good a number 8).
HR
Roar Rookie
No worries - I wasn't questioning your conclusions in the article and the previous comments. I think that keeping Burns opening with Sibley looks like a sensible option. Denly just happened to have a poor test and Crawley played very well, though Denly never really looked comfortable in the middle as you say, and the suggestions that he has to change his technique are probably both valid and potentially difficult for him to achieve. Crawley is undoubtedly the better long-term prospect purely because of his age, but the worry for Denly is that he also looks the better option short-term, so they might as well play Crawley while he's in form. If he suffers a catastrophic drop in output over say ten tests at first drop, then there's the option of bringing Denly back in (or even try someone like Northeast , but at the moment I don't see why they shouldn't make the switch now - Crawley looks like he has the talent to succeed.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
The situation has changed obviously since I wrote this article and wrote those comments before the start of the match. Denly's batting in this test has not been that great and his position is certainly at risk. Crawley looks like a good option at 3 (perhaps even at 4 where he's batted this week) so there is cover in case Denly does fall out of the squad. I can't defend Denly forever - he's made starts but isn't converting them into fifties and hundreds and that's why he's at risk of being dropped from the XI. His technique was questionable at times and he could have got himself out a handful of times in his second innings. But, while he's here, give him a bat at 3 and then set Crawley up as a replacement.
HR
Roar Rookie
Looks like Crawley at 3 might be England’s approach for the next test – Nass was suggesting as much in the broadcast, and while he’s not a selector it seems like a sensible course of action. I think you’re right that Denly will remain at 3 until his retirement, but I also think that his retirement may be very imminent.
HR
Roar Rookie
Root took a lot of convincing to move up to three, as far as I know, so I don't think he'd be terribly unhappy with a move to four. The idea of 'bat your best player at three' seems like an affectation that arose with Ponting - Chappell, Border, Lara, Tendulkar and now Smith didn't/don't usually bat at three, and given it has coincided with a significant drop-off in Root's returns, it might be best for both him and the team. I would give the 'third opener' a go at three for a while - whichever one it is, it's certainly better than not being in the team, and they could make the spot their own. In saying that, they might all be terribly ill-suited (I can't imagine Slater would have done well at first drop given how nervous he got, for example), but find the one that's least affected by nerves and give him a run there - I think they're all better options than Denly.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I have heard nothing about Root being moved from 3. In that case, keep Denly there until his retirement. Otherwise, I'm intrigued by your 'third opener' option. And could England be persuaded to keep things that way on Root's return with the captain dropping to 4? But will the opener moved to 3 be happy with that?
HR
Roar Rookie
I guess Denly is a good choice if you want someone in the team that you know can go out and make 30. I think that at this point he's likely on the downward slope of his career (it's the rare batsman that prospers after 35), and unless they're going to continue with trying Root at 3, it makes more sense to have an opener there than a middle-order bat.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
They call Joe Denly 'Dependable Denly' for a reason. Deserves to stay in the team. Interesting to read your thoughts on Burns at 3. Shall have to wait and see what the final verdict is when the final XI is released before the start of play on Wednesday. A few options in batting and bowling so a nice problem to have I think. Experimentation isn't a bad thing either in small doses.
HR
Roar Rookie
He really doesn’t fit the role though, does he? I think giving the third opener a run at 3 is probably worth a shot for them. Which of the three plays first drop, I’m not sure. I’d probably play Burns at 3 – having the two younger players opening likely puts less pressure on them, and if they can forge a decent partnership they can open together for the next ten years. And looking at the squad, I’m really not sure what Denly is doing in that team long-term – he would be the one I’d drop to bring Root back in. Play him at 4 in this match, swap him out for Root when he returns. And I’d give Burns a shot at 3 – he plays some extraordinarily ungainly shots, but he seems to have a talent for not getting out, and he’s got a few years on Denly.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Yes that has been a problem in the past. In 2017, Cook opened, Stoneman was 2, Westley was 3 and Root was 4. In comes Root at 2 for not very much. So Root then needs to put in a little bit more work with more pressure. Therefore, bring the captain in at 3 to steady the ship.
HR
Roar Rookie
I kind of understand the move - you don't want to lose two in quick succession when an opener gets out.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
You and your Pink Mercedes references Micko :laughing: I'll be on here this weekend with some reports.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Yup - next Wednesday, 8pm AEST start.
JGK
Roar Guru
Woo hoo.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Just about to watch the F1 FP1 video, let's see how good these Pink Mercedes are! :silly:
Micko
Roar Rookie
When's it start, next Wednesday was it?
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Confirmed today that Fox will be showing it after all so hope you are looking forward to watching it!
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Confirmation today that Fox will be showing this series so you can watch it after all. Like I said, only confirmed today.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Yes I wasn't disagreeing that Root wasn't good at 3 because he isn't. He's better at 4 - he had to move because of the captaincy.