'Keeping' The Selectors up at night.

Like the top three conundrum, the enigma of who should keep wicket for england is a tricky decision. There are too many options for just one spot in the start XI.

In England’s thirty-man training squad there are four wicket keeping options, three of which have experience in the Test match arena. Yorkshire’s Johnny Bairstow, Lancashire’s Jos Buttler, Surrey’s Ben Foakes and the newcomer, James Bracey of Gloucestershire.

I believe in two of the three options England already know what they are getting in the selection. Bairstow and Buttler have been consistent performers for England at Test match level. Both have been through rough patches being in and out of the side. Bairstow is seemingly still in that rough patch, having developed a bad habit of getting bowled through the gate playing extremely expansive drives to full balls. This is something the Yorkshire man can get away with in ODI cricket as the ball does not move around as much, but in a Test match facing the dukes ball, which seems and swings this is practically a death wish. Johnny is a devastating white ball player at the top of the order, England do not need to mix teams so much, leaving Bairstow to focus on white ball cricket will help him to become one of the worlds best. Bairstow is adamant he wants to play Test Cricket again, but he shouldn’t warrant instant re selection just because he has come out and said that, he needs to go back to Yorkshire and prove he can bat against the red ball and score lots of runs.

Buttler is wildly frustrating for me to watch in the Test arena. Jos has all the talent in the world, but he is not quite able to convert scores into big hundreds. So far, the devastating batsman has played 40 Test matches but only scored on century at an average of 32, which is not bad but England need someone who can average around 40 coming in at number seven as Matt Prior once did. The three lions need someone who will contribute more on a consistent level. Also, the Taunton born Buttler has 15 half centuries but only one conversion and this needs to be better for England. I think leaving Jos for a specialist one Day keeper would also be for the best.

The next two options are my preferred choices for the test match glove men. Foakes would be my number one choice by a long way, he has shown signs of pure class in his career so far in terms of his batting. His wicket-keeping is the best of anyone on this list. The Surrey man dominated in the Subcontinent in his first series, scoring a century in his first innings. Centuries are so tough to come by in Sri Lanka because of the conditions and the bowling, however that innings proved he has the talent and temperament to succeed at the level. The 27-year-old is unquestionably the best wicketkeeper in England, his batting is just a bonus and another string to his bow. I believe with a long stretch of time in the team, Foakes can prove himself as the right man for the job.

James Bracey is the most intriguing out of the four possible options because he has little experience at the England level. The 23-year-old did tour Australia with the England Lions this winter and had quite an impressive tour both as batsman and keeping wicket. Bracey must have really impressed the England coaching staff and selectors because selection to this 30-man squad is tough. In red ball cricket he normally bats at the top of the order for Gloucestershire but spent time with the Lions at number 6. This really does show a lot of versatility in Bracey which could come in handy with England. Being only 23 I see the fluent left hander as more of a developmental prospect who could learn from being in and around the England set up. However, I think blooding him at International level sooner rather than later will increase his development and make him a better player. The Bristolian also has an incredible record in One Day Cricket, averaging 60, but I see him more as a future test match wicket keeper.

Verdict: Start Foakes

Bracey backup

Bairstow and Buttler keep as one day specialists

Photoshop

England's Top Three, Spoilt for Choice

England's Test match selectors have a major decision to make in the coming weeks. A decision which they are not quite accustomed too. However, the fact this conversation must even come up is a massive positive for English Cricket.

English Cricket fans do not have to look too far back, as early as last summer, when the top order was a huge question mark for the side. One Day specialist Jason Roy was a potential saviour, but this test did not pay off. A top score of 72 against Ireland his only half century in five test matches. The Surrey man was subsequently dropped for the fifth and final Ashes test match at the Oval.

For another Surrey man, and Roy’s opening partner for much of that Ashes series, the ashes series of 2019 was really the breakout series for the left-handed Rory Burns. His slightly unusual technique was question before the series but Burns silenced the critics with a magical 133 in the first test match at Edgbaston. The left handers solid summer set him up as England’s long-term option at the top of the order, this is still the case even after missing the tour to South Africa due to injury. For me, Burns is a must at the top of the order, he is vastly experienced and knows his game inside and out, he must play.

Another of England’s options to take one of the top three spots is Warwickshire’s Dominic Sibley. Sibley, still only 24 years old, broke onto the scene as an 18-year-old schoolboy scoring a magnificent double century in the middle of his exams. Although his rise to an England international has not been smooth and included a move to Warwickshire, now he is in the Right hander looks set to stay for a long time. After a slightly shaky start in his first series against New Zealand, Sibley hit a superb 133 not out against South Africa against a strong and aggressive bowling attack. That herculean effort was the first hundred scored by and English opener at Newlands since the great Jack Hobbs in 1910. His technique is slightly promiscuous, but it works, and he has an incredible temperament to not attack loose balls, excellent off his legs he has the talent to open for years to come. For me, Sibley must be Burns’ opening partner on July 8^th against the West Indies. This leaves only one spot left in the top three, it is a battle between two Kent batsmen, Zak Crawley and Joe Denly.

The most obvious different between the pair is that of their age and experience. Crawley is only 22 years old and has only played in a handful of Test matches, where as Denly is 12 years his senior and been in the Test side for over a year.

England selectors do like to play it safe and will in the end go for the older statesmen in Joe Denly. However, for me this would be the wrong choice. Denly might be the safe pick but he is not the best pick to help develop the team and help England to win test matches. 14 test matches and Denly is yet to hit a century. Personally, picking Crawley and putting him at number three could prove to be a masterstroke, it gives the 6ft 5 Crawley more time to develop his game in the long form, especially in a summer of not being able to play an county championship cricket. The London born Crawley already has a strong technique and during his short Test career has only improved over time. Crawley plays in my XI, leaving Denly as a good backup. Denly might end up playing in the first test anyway because of captain Root wanting to be at the birth of his first child.

The selectors have an incredibly tough job on their hands but the positives to look at is that England have a conundrum in who to select and do not have a frantic search for an opening batsman.

My XI for the first Test:

1.       Burns

2.       Sibley

3.       Crawley

4.       Root

5.       Stokes

6.       Pope

7.       Foakes

8.       Bess

9.       Archer

10.   Broad

11.   Anderson

12.   Curran (s)