What next for England?

[Robert]

After one of their most successful tours in history, there are some things to ponder.

1. Jonny Bairstow

Presumably he will come back if fit. But Harry Brook has three centuries in three tests in his #5 berth and can’t be dropped, by some margin the most successful batter on either side this series. Root is undroppable, as on form he is the best England player. Pope is nailed on at #3 averaging 47 for this series and the skipper is best at #6. Whither Jonny now?


2. The opening pair

Duckett scored 357 runs at average 71 in five completed innings. Stick with him.

Crawley got 235 in six completed innings at 39 average and looks the more vulnerable.

If Crawley is dropped for NZ, who comes in? Back to Lees? Or, more radically…. Bairstow as opener? Is he too loose to get through the new ball? Gooch was too loose…. until he became one of England’s greatest postwar openers.


3. Keeper

Surely this issue has been put to bed? Foakes is the best keeper in England and scored an important fifty to get his team past Pakistan after a top-order failure. He has to play.


4. Seamers

Anderson, Robinson and Wood all averaged under 21 on flat wickets. How long can Anderson keep going? He can still play every other test. Quite apart from anything else, he can teach the youngsters. Stone will come back to reinforce and perhaps Broad has some time left as a wily third seamer.


5. Spinners

Leach unspectacular and got hit, but still led the England wicket tally with fifteen.

The big find is Rehan with seven wickets in his first test. He’s raw material at present. England will have to find a coach for him - perhaps get Mushtaq back?


6. Skipper

Captain Fantastic is bulletproof with nine wins and one loss in ten tests in charge. He no longer bowls much and had a moderate series with the bat. Maybe Root can do fifth bowler duties and act as the balancing all rounder.

 

[Mamoon]

Ben Foakes is a middling batsman at best & he is not suited to Bazball. When Bairstow returns, he could play as WK.

Alternatively, they could open with Bairstow & drop either Crawley or Duckett.

One thing is for certain though - Harry Brook will not be dropped from the playing XI. I don’t think there is even a remote possibility of that happening.

 

[Robert]

Ben Foakes is a middling batsman at best & he is not suited to Bazball. When Bairstow returns, he could play as WK.

Alternatively, they could open with Bairstow & drop either Crawley or Duckett.

One thing is for certain though - Harry Brook will not be dropped from the playing XI. I don’t think there is even a remote possibility of that happening.

Dropping Foakes and making Bairstow keep wicket is sacrificing two strengths for a nonexistent weakness. It would reduce Bairstow’s run power and reduce the keeping quality - Alec Stewart all over again.

 

[Amjid Javed]

1) Bairstow comes straight back in, no brained really, might be as an opener or back with the gloves.

2) Crawley still looks hit and miss but looks like he will be persisted with for next few series.

3) Foakes, maybe best keeper but for balance purposes I can see bairstow or pope been gloves more often then not over foakes.

4) Anderson will be kept going for another year maybe until Overton, Archer possibly return. England will defo need a good set of quicks for NZ series and next away Ashes series

5) leach does his job, england will never have a world class spinner so need to change it. Rehan would be good option on surfaces like oval during summer and Asia tours. Otherwise he won't really be needed.

6) Stokes was smart with how much he used himself, I think in more seamer friendly conditions he would bowl alot more, nothing to change here.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Dropping Foakes and making Bairstow keep wicket is sacrificing two strengths for a nonexistent weakness. It would reduce Bairstow’s run power and reduce the keeping quality - Alec Stewart all over again.

The days of playing a pure keeper (jack Russell, Rashid latif) are long gone. Most sides want 5 bowlers in their team these days (including all rounder), that then means if foakes plays he's batting 7, I can see england looking at better options with bat and can wear the gloves.

 

[James]

The team that played in the 3rd Test was a very good lineup for Asian conditions.


For English conditions:

Bairstow comes straight back in, so someone is going to have to move up to open and Crawley-Duckett will essentially be scrapping for the one remaining spot. (The only way around this is dropping Foakes and giving either Pope or Bairstow the gloves, but I wouldn’t go in for this personally.)

Leach and Rehan will compete for the single spinner’s berth.

There are loads of good fast bowling options with Anderson, Robinson & Wood being the best combination available.

 

[Bewal Express]

As the ambition is to win the Ashes then England will need better wickets at home against Cummins, Starc, Hazelwood and Boland. Generally the wickets have been very poor and Aussie bowling is way better than England's.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Both teams are FTB teams. One plays faster with cameos. One plays at moderate speed and big. English attack relies on strategies. They don't run through sides. At their very best Australian attack can be relentless. Australian attack has problem against lower order. But now that Starc has found his reverse again OZ attack is slightly more potent. Evenly matched sides.

 

[malakian]

Bairstow in for Creepy. Personally i'd drop Leach for Rehan who looks more likely to dismiss good, set batters, but i can't see the ENG management going for that.

 

[Robert]

The days of playing a pure keeper (jack Russell, Rashid latif) are long gone. Most sides want 5 bowlers in their team these days (including all rounder), that then means if foakes plays he's batting 7, I can see england looking at better options with bat and can wear the gloves.

It’s been that way since Gilchrist but what people forget is that Gilchrist was a top-line keeper as well as world-class bat, keeping to Warne for years.

Foakes has two test centuries from 18 tests and averages 40 at home (30 away and heading up) so I don’t see that he isn’t test quality with the bat.

Bairstow might score a few more runs with the gloves on, but will drop catches and give them away again. Catches win matches. Foakes will also make stumpings that Bairstow misses, so batters will take fewer liberties with the spinners.

 

[James]

Bairstow in for Creepy. Personally i'd drop Leach for Rehan who looks more likely to dismiss good, set batters, but i can't see the ENG management going for that.

Both credible suggestions.

Leach is a fairly reliable bowler and he poses a lot of threat to the pad and the stumps before right handed batters get themselves in, but he is weak against left handers and he really struggled to dislodge the likes of Babar, Imam & Shakeel in this series once they had established themselves at the crease. He had similar struggles against Mitchell and Blundell who kept building big partnerships for New Zealand v England in the summer.

Rehan is more of a gambit than the consistent Leach, because the youngster bowls some buffet balls, but at the same time he seems to have more of a wicket taking threat with his googly (which turns a lot) and his legspinner (which turns a bit and he is working to improve).

 

[Amjid Javed]

It’s been that way since Gilchrist but what people forget is that Gilchrist was a top-line keeper as well as world-class bat, keeping to Warne for years.

Foakes has two test centuries from 18 tests and averages 40 at home (30 away and heading up) so I don’t see that he isn’t test quality with the bat.

Bairstow might score a few more runs with the gloves on, but will drop catches and give them away again. Catches win matches. Foakes will also make stumpings that Bairstow misses, so batters will take fewer liberties with the spinners.

Up until last year Bairstow should have been nowhere near test side again, but runs at end of Ashes and then across summer means he's an auto-pick again. I don't dispute that Foakes can do a job, but at this moment in time it looks like it I'll be a choice between the 2 players and its more then likely Bairstow to play, unless his batting falls off a cliff again. Yeah Bairstows keeping isn't as good, but the destructive batting nature of Bairstow will see him get the nod.

 

[MenInG]

England coach Brendon McCullum says his team got close to perfection in their historic 3-0 clean sweep of Pakistan.

England completed an eight-wicket win on the fourth morning of the third Test in Karachi to become the first team to leave Pakistan with a 3-0 victory.

"It's incredibly satisfying, it's been an incredible four weeks," McCullum told Test Match Special.

"We will walk away from this tour knowing we have achieved something very special and we will never forget it."

Prior to this tour, England had not beaten Pakistan in a Test outside of the UK for 22 years and had only ever won two away matches in 30 attempts against the same opposition.

But in their first Test series in Pakistan since 2005, England recorded only their fourth ever 3-0 away clean sweep against any team.

In the first Test in Rawalpindi, England piled up 506-4 on the first day, but only secured victory on an incredibly flat pitch in fading light at the end of the fifth day.

A tense finish in the second Test in Multan resulted in England prevailing by 26 runs, then the emphatic win in the finale in Karachi came after suffering the hindrance of losing the toss.

All this came against the backdrop of an illness that has lingered around the squad since the first day of the first Test was at risk of being delayed by 24 hours.

"Every ground has challenged us in different ways," said New Zealander McCullum. "Some challenged us tactically, some challenged us technically and some challenged us mentally.

"Then you add in the guys were really ill during this tour. To think they have bee able to play the style of cricket in those conditions we have on those three different grounds, we got pretty close to perfect."

The tour has seen the emergence of batter Harry Brook, who scored hundreds in each of the three Tests.

Brook got his chance after Jonny Bairstow suffered a broken leg, but McCullum said Bairstow will come back into the team "as soon as he is fit".

England also made 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed their youngest man to play international cricket in the final Test, with the leg-spinner taking 5-48 in the second innings.

McCullum believes Ahmed could continue his development in franchise cricket - the Leicestershire man is entered in Friday's Indian Premier League auction.

"The important thing now is that we continue to look after him," said McCullum. "I'll encourage him to play as much franchise cricket and get as many experiences around the globe and play with different players, under different coaches and in different conditions.

"It would be great if he got picked up at the IPL. Why not give him that opportunity to rub shoulders with other players and pick up those experiences? What other 18-year-old is going to get those chances? He's a fully fledged international cricketer."

England have now won nine of their 10 Tests since McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took charge at the beginning of the home summer.

"We all understand what we have done is pretty special," said Stokes. "To win 3-0 out here will be something to look back on and be very proud of.

"It's a great time to be playing for England. It's obviously a lot easier when we are winning - the real test will be if things don't go so well. I hope we don't come to that."

England's next Test assignment is two matches in New Zealand in February. They play a one-off match against Ireland in June before they begin the bid to regain the Ashes from Australia.

"I don't like looking too far ahead," Stokes told Sky Sports. "I obviously have my eye on the Ashes and have got little things about that in the back of my head.

"We will just continue to grow as a team and keep having fun, playing cricket with a smile on our face and win as much as we can."

BBC

 

[Cover Drive Six]

England team is formidable.
For each position they have 2 players back up.

 

[Saj]

I love the relaxed approach.

I wasn't sure if Stokes would make a good Test captain but he has already proved that he has great game awareness and a fantastic positive attitude.

They'll lose some series, but this is the start of a great journey.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Too bad Buttler is not clicking in this. If this guy clicks with this ultra positive approach watch out. Pakistan was lucky not to face the wrath of Bairstow. It would have been raining sixes.

 

[Robert]

Up until last year Bairstow should have been nowhere near test side again, but runs at end of Ashes and then across summer means he's an auto-pick again. I don't dispute that Foakes can do a job, but at this moment in time it looks like it I'll be a choice between the 2 players and its more then likely Bairstow to play, unless his batting falls off a cliff again. Yeah Bairstows keeping isn't as good, but the destructive batting nature of Bairstow will see him get the nod.

I would go for this side for NZ:

Bairstow
Duckett
Prior
Root
Brook
Stokes
Foakes
Rehan
Robinson
Wood
Anderson or Broad.

 

[Robert]

Too bad Buttler is not clicking in this. If this guy clicks with this ultra positive approach watch out. Pakistan was lucky not to face the wrath of Bairstow. It would have been raining sixes.

Or not. Root didn’t get many runs, unexpectedly. There’s no guarantee that Bairstow would have fired.

 

[James]

I would go for this side for NZ:

Bairstow
Duckett
Prior
Root
Brook
Stokes
Foakes
Rehan
Robinson
Wood
Anderson or Broad.

Prior )

(I know who you mean really)

Good team.

 

[Robert]

Prior )

(I know who you mean really)

Good team.

Some of the letters are the same.

 

[shaz619]

I think it will be a while until this side is truly tested, which is ideal for a new captain and coach to settle on a core group. I expect England to win their next couple of series compatibly

 

[MenInG]

Everything Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have touched in recent times has turned to gold and the England brains trust have another major goal on the horizon when they aim to continue on their winning ways and win back the Ashes against Australia next year.

England finished their obligations for 2022 when they wrapped up their first Test series in Pakistan for 17 years cruising to victory in the third and final Test in Karachi on Tuesday.

It completed an impressive eight-month period since McCullum was appointed coach and Stokes took the reins from Joe Root and was promoted to Test captain, with the team's results during that phase unrivalled.

England lost just once while completing impressive Test series triumphs over New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan and even had time to win the postponed Test against India in Edgbaston during a dominant period of red-ball cricket.

While the ICC T20 World Cup title they won in Australia last month may have been their crowning moment of 2022, England's Test form has just as imperious and it's a shame they were already out of contention for next year's ICC World Test Championship prior to McCullum and Stokes' burgeoning partnership.

But that may work in England's favour when they attempt to win back the Ashes from Australia for the first time since 2015 when the two arch-rivals meet on English soil in the middle of next year.

While Stokes has never been one to look too far ahead, the star all-rounder and ever-improving England skipper admits he had had one eye on the Test series for some time.

"I obviously have my eye on the Ashes and have got little things about that in the back of my head," Stokes said after completing the Test whitewash in Pakistan.

"We will just continue to grow as team, spend more time here as a unit, and keep enjoying having fun, playing cricket with a smile on our face and win as much as we can."

Having fun is something that has been paramount to the recent success of England and Stokes said he will continue to find ways to keep his teammates invigorated and enjoying what they do.

"It is a great time to be in this dressing room and a great time to be playing for England. I'm just encouraging everyone to turn up every day and enjoy what you're doing. Obviously, it is easier to do when we are winning the way we are at the moment," Stokes said.

"The real test will be when things don't go so well and that will be the time to make that even more of a thing for us to take out there. But I hope we don't come to that."

Taking the time to make everyone feel part of the success seems to be an important part of England's current mantra and this was on show during the trophy celebration following the Karachi Test when Stokes handed the trophy to debutant Rehan Ahmed to display front and centre as he inconspicuously stood at the back to allow his teammates to take the glory.

McCullum too seemingly supports this notion as the former New Zealand captain claimed he had done 'bugger all' behind the scenes and that Stokes was the real mastermind behind England's rich vein of form.

"The skipper was absolutely magnificent right throughout the (Pakistan) series," McCullum told Sky Sports.

"Not just on the field, where everyone sees the decisions he makes and the strings he pulls, but it's his man-management and his ability to get the very best out of each member of the side, off the field, which is the most impressive part from our point of view."

ICC

 

[James]

I understand with how well England is doing atm that there is a lot of talk about the Ashes, and it is coming up soon, but England has three more Test matches before the blockbuster first Test against Australia at Edgbaston.

The three matches are not a part of the World Test Championship, but two of them are away in New Zealand which will be very tough games, and perhaps equally as importantly this is a chance for England to nail down their best XI.

England is also hosting Ireland for a one off Test in June, which is a match that England will likely win by a wide margin, but is still useful for England to warm up for Australia and the game will help to further grow the profile of Irish cricket.

So there is no doubt that the Ashes is being viewed as the main event here, and rightly so, but the English need to move away from this mentality that only the Ashes is important. Every match in every format is important. The two newish pairs of captains-coaches can help with this.

 

[Robert]

I understand with how well England is doing atm that there is a lot of talk about the Ashes, and it is coming up soon, but England has three more Test matches before the blockbuster first Test against Australia at Edgbaston.

The three matches are not a part of the World Test Championship, but two of them are away in New Zealand which will be very tough games, and perhaps equally as importantly this is a chance for England to nail down their best XI.

England is also hosting Ireland for a one off Test in June, which is a match that England will likely win by a wide margin, but is still useful for England to warm up for Australia and the game will help to further grow the profile of Irish cricket.

So there is no doubt that the Ashes is being viewed as the main event here, and rightly so, but the English need to move away from this mentality that only the Ashes is important. Every match in every format is important. The two newish pairs of captains-coaches can help with this.

I would expect Bazball to cross the Irish Sea. It will appeal to the fighting spirit of the Irish.

Agree that NZ is the most important factor objective because England could come a cropper there. They should play three tests not two, though. NZ are test champions and deserve more respect.

 

[James]

I would expect Bazball to cross the Irish Sea. It will appeal to the fighting spirit of the Irish.

Agree that NZ is the most important factor objective because England could come a cropper there. They should play three tests not two, though. NZ are test champions and deserve more respect.

You will notice that 3-Test series in NZ are quite infrequent, which is primarily because they can’t financially afford to host three Tests on the bounce regularly. They don’t have a leading T20 franchise system which attracts global talent to balance the books. New Zealand Cricket runs Test matches at a loss and rely on white ball cricket to either turn a small profit (in a good year) or more commonly just about break even. It’s a very unfortunate situation. When one looks at the sheer financial gulf between CA / BCCI / ECB and all other cricket nations in terms of $US revenue, it’s quite shocking.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Looking forward to the Ashes I can see it being as competitive as the last series in England or even like 2005 , 2009 series. Interesting to see surfaces for the summer as both sides are good on flat surfaces so we could get very high scoring series shoot out between the two.

 

[Amjid Javed]

McCullum has just said on lnterview now that Bairstow when fit, will come straight back into the side.

Like I said earlier in thread it's a no brained for England so either foakes or Crawley are probably missing out here.

 

[James]

McCullum has just said on lnterview now that Bairstow when fit, will come straight back into the side.

Like I said earlier in thread it's a no brained for England so either foakes or Crawley are probably missing out here.

I guess it’s rare that every single player is readily available, as there is usually someone with an injury or an illness or a family matter to attend to.

So this admittedly fiendish selection dilemma might end up solving itself anyway.

 

[Amjid Javed]

I guess it’s rare that every single player is readily available, as there is usually someone with an injury or an illness or a family matter to attend to.

So this admittedly fiendish selection dilemma might end up solving itself anyway.

Personally I always saw Bairstow as a flop / underachievier in tests up until his last test recall. He had 1 good year and otherwise flattered to deceive. Since being recalled he's made himself undroppable. Foakes time will come eventually but I think when push comes to shove for now Bairstow will be back in and with the gloves.

 

[Robert]

Personally I always saw Bairstow as a flop / underachievier in tests up until his last test recall. He had 1 good year and otherwise flattered to deceive. Since being recalled he's made himself undroppable. Foakes time will come eventually but I think when push comes to shove for now Bairstow will be back in and with the gloves.

That big year was as a pure batsman.

He was dropped because he averaged 25 for his last two years as a batter-keeper.

 

[Amjid Javed]

That big year was as a pure batsman.

He was dropped because he averaged 25 for his last two years as a batter-keeper.

It's either foakes or Crawley who is likely to be dropped, so who you dropping and where is Bairstow batting. At least england have this positive selection issues, compared to 12 months ago.

 

[Robert]

It's either foakes or Crawley who is likely to be dropped, so who you dropping and where is Bairstow batting. At least england have this positive selection issues, compared to 12 months ago.

Yeah. 12 months ago only Root and Stokes could bat. Now the top seven are all putting in! Good problems to have.

 

[Ab Fan]

Bairstow as opener? He is best down the order in my opinion. But good for England that they have other options too in case of injuries.

 

[Sidilicious]

It’s a shame that the next tour to India or Australia is atleast another 2 years away. That would have been the litmus test for bazball.

 

[shamaan]

I think they should replace Foakes with Baistrow or drop Crawley for Bairstow.

 

[James]

It’s a shame that the next tour to India or Australia is atleast another 2 years away. That would have been the litmus test for bazball.

Agree.

Ashes at home is a big test though.

 

[MenInG]