England's Summer of Cricket 2021

First topic message reminder :

Jacks, Crawley, Hain, Stokes, Salt (WK), Lawrence, Gregory, Overton, Saqib, Ball, Parkinson?

Will MacPherson suggests Hales won’t be picked, which is a bit odd given they hinted he would get a chance this summer.

You also have Vince, Duckett and keep an eye out for Harry Brook.

Phew, England do win. Cruising after Roy's good innings, then a bit of a wobble nearly derailed things entirely.

10-1 in that 11-game stretch of limited-overs fixtures. Remember when England were poor at this stuff?!

Livingstone has given his chances of featuring in the T20 World Cup a big boost. Malan steadily playing himself out of it.

Tests next up v India. India preparing with a game v a County XI today. England's test players preparing with two games in the Hundred.

guildfordbat wrote:Malan modelling himself on a Rory Burns Blast innings goes for 31 off 33 and leaves others to get him and his side out of trouble.

That was the icing on the cake of a very poor series for Malan - and as Duty noted, his fielding was poor too. At the moment I think he is the one who makes way for Stokes’s return to the side, I don’t see how you can drop Livingstone.

Whatever happens, they’ve got themselves a strong squad. Think you have 15 nailed on to go in

Roy, Buttler, Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Morgan, Moeen, Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jordan, Archer, Wood, Mahmood, Rashid, Parkinson

Likes of Banton, Woakes, Willey, Tom Curran, Billings (probably a few I’m missing) on the bubble (not sure what exact squad is allowed for the t20i? Is it increased due to covid?)

Didn't realise this was on so caught it today on replay.

So another England win , despite a bit of a wobble.  Now I know England like to entertain ; but what were Livingstone , and especially Morgan , thinking there at the death ?  I mean , 6 needed off seven - then 4 off five  : and they both contrive to get out going for glory instead of just knocking it around for safe singles/twos and leave it up to the bowlers...not exactly the % play.

But perhaps they just wanted to test Chris Jordan  

Think Olly's squad is about it - fitness permitting. If it is 16 I'd add Willey. The XI might depend on conditions and opponent.

I would like to have seen Parkinson again in this last match but guess they wanted to go bat heavy and give Livingstone a bit of a bowl - fair enough. Anyway it is another series win - if achieved with a bit more difficulty than the fifty over one. Not bad form to take to the Wt20

17 man test squad announced for the India series;

Hameed, Sibley, Burns, Crawley, Root, Lawrence, Pope, Stokes, Buttler (wk), Bairstow (wk), Sam Curran, Bess, Leach, Robinson, Broad, Wood, Anderson

Headlines outside the above;
Woakes out for the first two tests injured
Archer still a month at best from full fitness
Foakes still injured, likely for the summer

Hameed has tonned up against an Indian attack featuring Bumrah, Yadav, Siraj, Axar and Jadeja in the India vs County XI game. My gut says he plays the first test…

JDizzle wrote:Hameed has tonned up against an Indian attack featuring Bumrah, Yadav, Siraj, Axar and Jadeja in the India vs County XI game. My gut says he plays the first test…

I was hoping that Hameed would NOT make a good score today as they may be tempted to play him in the Test series now.

It's been a long, slow road back to form for the still-relatively-young man and IMHO it would be a good idea to let him carry on making runs at county level rather than be pitchforked into a Test against the Indian attack in English conditions.

Handled carefully Hameed could have years of Test cricket ahead of him. Handled badly.....

I agree, I wouldn’t pick him this summer. But can’t knock the lad, he’s backed them into a corner with weight of runs.

Squad seems pretty sensible given who is available - plenty of cover for any injuries - and options according to conditions.

Confess I am ambivalent re Hameed : I was very impressed with him on debut ; saddened by his loss of all form after that unfortunate injury - and then delighted to see him re-invented and back in consideration. He is clearly one who has to be considered for one of those never-quite-settled top three spots , either now or in the near future.

However : as he is in this squad - and has just underlined his recent good form with a ton against India in a tour match - he presents with an immediate question : do you pick him , now (when he is clearly on top of his game) or accept he is just there to be "around the squad" or as an emergency call up chance (like Bracey - who did not benefit) and defer any thought of actually re-introducing him to Test cricket until next year (when it is entirely possible there may be casualties from another testing Ashes Tour ? )

Partly this is going to be how the management rate him at present and partly what they think of the other choices. (And of course what is decided for the first match won't necessarily apply throughout the summer) But I suspect if they do want to try him , the first match would probably be the best... I will leave it to the wisdom of the coach and captain. They will , after all , have to live with the consequences.

sirfredperry wrote:IMHO it would be a good idea to let him carry on making runs at county level rather than be pitchforked into a Test against the Indian attack in English conditions.

Handled carefully Hameed could have years of Test cricket ahead of him. Handled badly.....

How much of that applies to Crawley too though?

Lowlandbrit wrote:

sirfredperry wrote:IMHO it would be a good idea to let him carry on making runs at county level rather than be pitchforked into a Test against the Indian attack in English conditions.

Handled carefully Hameed could have years of Test cricket ahead of him. Handled badly.....

How much of that applies to Crawley too though?

The more I see of Crawley the less i'm inclined to think he has a long test career ahead of him, too many technical issues. Hameed however is technically very good, he was letting himself get bogged down a lot in county cricket and then getting out, the concentration has improved as has his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking albeit steadily.

Hameed has yet to play a list A game for Notts which for a player like him can only be a good thing. Lancashire went through a period of wanting to convert him into an all format player which failed spectacularly.

Another hundred for Haseeb Hameed, this time an 88 ball hundred in the Royal London One Day Cup

He's getting in the test team, isn't he?

I think we'll see Hameed this summer in the Test side, yep. Part of me thinks give him time and part of me thinks if he's scoring runs play him. I'm very torn on it.

If he goes to Australia, gets torn a new one on hard pitches and loses confidence again then recalling him will be lambasted. If we stick with Burns, Sibley and Crawley without better returns then not recalling Hameed when he's scoring runs will be lambasted.

I'd probably lean towards picking him if he's scoring runs. Of all the openers we've tried since Strauss retired I still think Hameed is the most talented and has the best technique.

I get the fear that bringing him in "too soon" might set him up for failure against tough opponents : but really ?  I mean if the fellow has true class then he's going to have to show it against them anyway and if not is it a big loss if he is found out ? Not as if he is on his first look at the top level. It is true a trip to Australia has undone a few bats ; but in truth they probably weren't the ones who were going to play 100 Tests anyway.

I am generally in favour of picking players when they are in hot form rather than waiting interminably to see if they can maintain it. I would be inclined to select him ; though I am not certain they will as they may still want to give the incumbents a little longer to make their case.

Not going to scream "idiots !" whatever they do. With Covid issues likely to be around for a while yet there may be a few players in and out of the side anyway...

I guess Hameed's better-than-a run-a-ball hundred yesterday was not so much a gentle nudge to the selectors as a hefty shove in the back.

Have to disagree with SR (above) about Crawley. Yes, he's having a horrible time this season but anyone who can play as well as he did for his 267 last season has to be persevered with.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/57967063

Problems for India. Gill, Sundar and Khan all ruled out of the series due to injury. Will be disappointing not to see Sundar play.

I was really excited to see Gill in England. He's such a prodigious talent that I was really curious to see how quickly he could adapt to the completely different conditions that will largely be alien to him.

I'd have been surprised if Sundar made the team to be honest in England. A very talented player no doubt but with Jadeja back to fill the all rounder role I think we may well have not seen Washi or Axar Patel anyway.

I'm a touch disappointed that Bhuvi hasn't got a recall as he could be handful in English conditions.

Weather could play a big part in the Eng-Ind series. Take the Lord's Test in 2018. India batted in poor conditions in both innings while England, mainly thanks to a Woakes hundred, were at the crease on the only nice, sunny day.

If it's hot and dry India should be able to outbat England and outbowl them, at least in the spin department. But if it's wet and overcast, how many runs will India make against the swinging, moving ball?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/57976072

A potential story that’s coming to the fore now, bubbling away in the background with Aussie Covid restrictions.
In agreement with the players on this one, seems ridiculous that families wouldn’t be allowed to travel

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/57976072

A potential story that’s coming to the fore now, bubbling away in the background with Aussie Covid restrictions.
In agreement with the players on this one, seems ridiculous that families wouldn’t be allowed to travel

Ashes in the UAE. Get some raging turners prepared and let’s go.

Ben Stokes to take an indefinite break from professional cricket to prioritise his mental well being.

He’s had a horrible year especially with his dad and the rest of his family being on the other side of the world - I hope he gets the help he needs and comes back as strong.

Fair decision. Far too much cricket being played, the addition of being in a 'bubble' for much of it must have further hurt his (and many other players') mental condition over the past year. Hope he gets through it.

JDizzle wrote:Ben Stokes to take an indefinite break from professional cricket to prioritise his mental well being.

He’s had a horrible year especially with his dad and the rest of his family being on the other side of the world - I hope he gets the help he needs and comes back as strong.

Totally agree, let’s hope he can get better - loss of his dad in times like these and his family being the other side of the world is not ideal at best.

From a purely cricketing point of view (which feels like it doesn’t really matter much here), no England are sans Stokes and Woakes for the first test or two of the series.
Think this means Sam Curran has to play, and maybe at 7 with Robinson at 8, then Broad/Anderson and Leach in some order from 9-11.
Unless they’re going to be serious green seamers where they can leave out a spinner that is

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:

... England are sans Stokes and Woakes for the first test or two of the series.
Think this means Sam Curran has to play, and maybe at 7 with Robinson at 8, then Broad/Anderson and Leach in some order from 9-11.
Unless they’re going to be serious green seamers where they can leave out a spinner that is

Craig Overton called up to the squad. Feel he'll compete with Robinson for the number 8 spot.

Feel for Stokes . Really hope some time away lets him get himself right and comes back to enjoy what he does best.

But for England it is of course a total disaster. I am no pessimist (as I think most on here would know) but I fear their chances of beating India have just fallen off a cliff unless a lot of others play out of their skins. And if - as is probably likely - he is out for the Ashes that pretty much destroys any hope they had.

India first. Biggest problem will be balancing the side without a true all rounder. May see batting ability over pure bowling class in some selections...

Such a shame to hear that Stokes is struggling but completely the right call to step away indefinitely if so. There are more important things in life than cricket.

I echo alfie's feelings about how it effects our chances against India though. We will once again be relying on the exhaustively repetitive "hopefully Root gets a ton and Jimmy or Broad get on a roll".

1.Burns
2.Sibley
3.Crawley/Hameed
4.Root (c)
5.Pope
6.Buttler (wk) (vc)
7.Surran
8.Robinson
9.Leach
10, 11. Two from Anderson, Broad and Wood

It's a long way from convincing. Even with Stokes it's a long way from convincing in fact.

Usually I'd ere towards having 3 seamers and a spinner in these circumstances to allow the extra batsman but with Wood and Anderson having had injury issues, plus Broad not getting any younger it's much harder to pick 3 man seam attack.

Woakes is an enormous loss in the circumstances.

Not really looking forward to the series. Both sides greatly weakened, India useless with the bat in English conditions, England useless with the bat in any conditions (weakened further with Stokes' absence), and preparation hasn't been great for either side.

Still expecting an England win because of the greater quality of the seam bowlers, but I think it'll be a series marked by rubbish batting, poor dismissals and low scores. I wonder if we'll see any 400+ score in the series? 350+ even?

Weather also looks quite dodgy for the opening test in Nottingham.

Further to Carlos' post, I'm not sure that Pope will be fit for the first Test.

guildfordbat wrote:Further to Carlos' post, I'm not sure that Pope will be fit for the first Test.

Yes decidedly quiet on news about his recovery, but no Hundred or Surrey games for a while, tough to see him going straight into a test isn’t it?

I do think Hameed should play, he’s in form and there’s no time like the present. Ultimately if he’s good enough he’ll show something in the series. For who though is the question…because I don’t think Hameed is a 3, but it feels like Crawley is more at risk than Sibley.

I dont envy Root and Silverwood!

Dobell reporting this is the likely XI for the 1st test

Sibley
Burns
Crawley
Root
Pope (expected to be fit)
Buttler
Sam Curran
Robinson
Broad
Leach
Anderson

Woakes sustained his bruised heel keeping him out of the first two tests by...falling down the stairs.

Why are England cricketers so clumsy? Archer put his hand in a fish tank and ended up with glass embedded. Crawley fell over in a dressing room on the India tour. Woakes has apparently tumbled down some stairs. Foakes also slipped in a dressing room, which is why he still isn't available. This has all happened in the past six months.

Carry On England, featuring a guest appearance from Graeme Swann's cat, in cinemas this summer.

The weather looks pretty miserable for 3 of the 5 days, so it might be tough to force a result. England's team is what you expect - incredible seam bowling ability, capable of knocking the opposition out for 150, and incredibly weak batting, capable of getting rolled over for 150 (and sometimes not even as much as that!). With Stokes out the balance is all askew and Buttler at 6 is v. concerning.

1.Easwaran/Rahul
2.Sharma
3.Pujara
4.Kohli
5.Rahane
6.Pant (wk)
7.Jadeja
8.Ashwin
9.Sharma
10.Bumrah
11.Shami/Siraj

Presumably something like that for India. Maybe Thakur to play if they want a 4th seamer or a longer tail.

It's a strong India side that was deservedly in the WTC final. England's bowlers should be able to cause the Indian batsman plenty of troubles in home conditions if they are disciplined as NZ were in that final. Whether the England batsman can do enough is another question entirely.

Zero pace or aggression in those seam bowling options for England. They will need to hope for the right overhead conditions and/or the groundsman delivering exactly what they've asked for if that's the XI.

So we are getting ready to get back to some test cricket after a bit of a break. There has been Tokio, some T-20s getting ready for the WC, India played a limited overs series in Lanka without most of their first choice players and discovered Suryakumar Yadav who has now also made it to the test squad as an injury replacement. Ireland registered an ODI win against South Africa, West Indies have been West Indies, sublime to ridiculous back and forth with typical consistency. England's C team demolished Pakistan in ODIs. And there have also been reports about the latest ECB experimentation that to me, seems more of a case of Being in Nothingness!
Hope the test series will produce some interesting cricket.

Both sides go in with injury issues. India opener Shubman Gill's out for the series effectively it seems. First reserve opener, Mayank Agarwal, who got hit on the head in the nets, is out for the first test. Prithvi Shaw, the replacement opener, won't be available to play the first test as he's just coming in from Sri Lanka. Abhimanyu Easwaran hasn't yet debuted for India, and England will be a tough place to bat even for the seasoned.
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is coming back after COVID, Wriddhiman Saha too has had fitness concerns. Washington Sundar too is on the injured list.
For England, Ben Stokes had to take a break from the game, Jofra Archer is not yet back to fitness, and Chris Woakes managed to pick up an injury in bizarre circumstances.

There are greater concerns about the balance of both sides. India's lower order can't bat. But Bumrah, Shami, Ishant and Siraj are their top pacers who can win matches for them with the ball. Among the reserve seamers, only Shardul Thakur has any decent potential with the bat. They don't have a seam bowling all-rounder as Hardik Pandya is just about started easing his way back to bowling in limited overs, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a bowler who can bat a bit and a fine possibility in English bowling conditions, hasn't been test match fit for a while and isn't part of the squad though he did make a comeback to the team in the limited overs in Sri Lanka. Ravindra Jadeja has done enough to merit his place alone as the 6th batter in the side besides his world class bowling and fielding abilities, and R Ashwin has been bowling as well as he has ever has done. But the conditions are unlikely to demand more than 1 spinner, and unless it is green enough for a 3 or 4 day finish, then they would probably need 4 seamers. The batting is already flakey, with both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara not producing consistent top returns, and the skipper himself not making those really big scores for a while. Rohit Sharma as test opener, despite all the improvement that he has brought about, is still a work in progress particularly in these conditions, and now they are without Gill and Agarwal too. How are they going to balance all these concerns?
Not ideal, but I would go in with the WTC final strategy. KL Rahul obviously in for Gill, but going in with both Ashwin and Jadeja, basically a 4 man attack + Jadeja. There is no number 8 batter in this squad other than R Ashwin. The only real number 9 they have is Shardul Thakur who is probably is 6th or 7th in the seam bowling pecking order. So go with what you have.
Rohit, Rahul, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant, Jadeja, Ashwin, Ishant, Shami, Bumrah.

England have a spin bowling problem. There spinners are not that good to start with. But most test sides, in most conditions, would need a regular spin bowling option. But England also want 4 seam bowling optionss, and with no Stokes, they have a problem. They have a possible fix in the form of Moeen Ali who can bat 7 and isn't that worse than some of the regular specialist batters they have played in recent times. With Sam Curran in at 8, they have depth in batting too. But England seem to have decided that Moeen is done for in test cricket more or less. Both Leach and Bess aren't terrible with the bat, but they aren't all-rounder level. Bess could possibly be a bowling all-rounder if he continues to evolve, Leach a bowler who can bat a bit. But England don't trust both with their primary skill to play them in a 4 man attack. And despite all that talent, Sam Curran isn't quite a test match number 7 yet. As they haven't selected Moeen, think they should also go in with 4 quicks.
Burns, Sibley, Hameed, Root, Pope, Lawrence, Buttler, Curran, Wood, Broad, Anderson

Mo averages well under 20 with the bat since 2016. He isn't a Test match 7. His vulnerability outside off stump and weakness against the short ball got found out horribly. He's a brilliant ball striker who can annihilate spinners hence how dangerous he is with the bat in white ball cricket with limits on bouncers and the ball not swinging. Against the red ball and Test quality seamers he got worked out though. Seamers can just alternate between hanging the ball outside off stump on a good length and bouncing him, eventually he'll chuck the bat at a ball that isn't there to drive or try to take on the hook and sky one.

With the ball he can dangerous due to his strike rate but also goes for runs and always had. Whether the trade off between a very good strike rate and abysmal economy is worth the gamble at home where England will be giving most the overs to their seamers is up for debate.

I'm a big Mo fan and think he's been underutilised in T20is recently but the Englannd coaches didn't decide that Mo was done as a test match all rounder, his form with the bat over 4 consecutive years decided that for them!

Worrying reports in the Daily Mail this morning that Archer has had a setback in his recovery, and that his initial elbow injury was "more severe than first thought" and that "he may have to go under the knife again".
Going to be decided in the next 48 hours, and would miss the T20 World Cup and Ashes if he has to go under the knife again.

So the physio/doctors just continue to totally misdiagnose and mismanage this injury to one of our best all format bowlers...ffs

What are the predictions for the test series then? The BBC pundits are mostly handing the series to India. Vaughan thinks India will win 3-1 (good sign for England), as does Norcross.  Ramps, Mitchell and Mann are going for 2-1 to India. Only Cook is going for an England win, of 3-1. Tufnell says 2-2, Agnew (probably wisely) declining to make a prediction because one Covid outbreak could change everything.

If Covid doesn't affect the series, I think it'll be 3-1 to England. Yes, England have numerous problems with the bat and are missing some key players, but India are pretty much hopeless in the test environment in England. One test to be won by the rain (possibly the first test).

Evens available on England winning the series, good heavens that's a steal and a half.

I fancy India. My only reticence is whether can Kohli have as good a series as he did in 2018, and if he doesn't churn out 600 runs where are they coming from. But the same can obviously be said for England.

Other things in England's favour - Bumrah averages 35 with the ball since the start of 2020, so is he at his best? England are likely to only have one leftie (Burns) in their top 6, which should help them play Ishant and Ashwin.

Broad, Anderson, Leach is a long tail - and Robinson, despite his promise with the bat on debut, is unproven at Test level. Woakes is needed fit quickly as Curran at 7 is a big yikes.

I am really looking forward to Anderson and Kohli renewing hostilities too. Anderson bowled exceptionally well to him in 2018 despite Kohli statistically winning the battle - the spell Kohli managed to absorb at Edgbaston in T1 was incredible, so looking forward to more of that as it is just good cricket.

It sounds like Guildford's inside info is correct and Pope will miss out! And Bairstow is favourite to bat at 5 rather than Lawrence. Things in his favour are he averages over 50 in FC cricket, so he has runs at that level that Lawrence and Crawley can only dream of, but obviously there is the major problem that he is bowled by anything even near the stumps and he averages 22 in Tests since the start of 2018. I suspect he probably would outscore Lawrence over the course of a series batting 5, but it remains an uninspiring pick.

India will win for me, they’re the better side, England are missing key players and have an unbalanced team and no Stokes to perform heroics to win a test. I’d say 3-1 to India, if the weather holds enough for four results in the five games

Bairstow over Lawrence would be totally baffling, especially as Lawrence has looked quite promising and has averaged 55 in the county championship this year.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Worrying reports in the Daily Mail this morning that Archer has had a setback in his recovery, and that his initial elbow injury was "more severe than first thought" and that "he may have to go under the knife again".
Going to be decided in the next 48 hours, and would miss the T20 World Cup and Ashes if he has to go under the knife again.

So the physio/doctors just continue to totally misdiagnose and mismanage this injury to one of our best all format bowlers...ffs

With an injury that serious to a quicks bowling arm I think it's more a case of being nearly impossible to know exactly where Jof is until he's back bowling at 100%. It seems a similar story that he can get back bowling, feeling OK, but not at full pace but then when he cranks it up there's a recurrence.

My worry is whether he will still be in that position of not knowing exactly how the elbow is until he's going full whack even after a more major operation. Pace bowlers can come back from serious injuries given time as seen with Pat Cummins. It's a tough road though as bowling fast pretty much ruins the body.

As for the series, I think it's tough to call. England's bowlers should be able to cause the Indian batsman lots of trouble but if we produce seaming pitches then England won't get many runs either.

If forced to call it I'd predict 2-1, narrowly fancying India. I think they've improved a lot as a side since 2018 and are playing better away from home as seen in Australia.

Whilst I've called 2-1 India I honestly wouldn't be surprised by 3-1 England or 3-1 India either. The nature of a very weak England batting lineup and India's batsman against England's seamers in home conditions is that collapses could happen at any moment. Which makes it a tough series to call!

England's chink of light is the Indian opening batsman. Rohit against the new Dukes and a debutant potentially partnering him means England should be hoping to get at Pujara early.

With Stokes and Woakes I'd back England at home despite the sides many faults. Without Stokes and Woakes though England have the longer tail, incomparably worse spin options and a top 5 with one bankable Test batsman*. India have the weaker seam bowling attack but their seamers are still pretty darn good.

* I really hope this can be a series in which Pope start converting his enormous talent into Test runs to give the middle order another reliable long term batsman.

Ashwin dropped.....sad, a pity, but probably understandable
Kohli loses the toss...and he will lose 4 out of 5 tosses

I did not see that England XI coming - continuing to opt to not play a spinner with no Stokes/Woakes to balance the side...surprises me.

England win the toss and bat first. Brave of Root. Plenty of grass on the pitch so it'll good be for the seamers, some talk it'll take turn later on so that's perhaps why England don't want to bat last. Might be irrelevant if the scheduled rain ruins this test.

Actually, scrap the talk of spin because England haven't taken a front-line spinner, instead choosing to shore up the batting. Interesting selection.

Burns; Sibley; Crawley; Root; Bairstow; Lawrence; Buttler; Curran; Robinson; Broad; Anderson.

It's a very troubling looking batting line-up, still. Will be surprised if they can bat through today. Two dodgy openers, Crawley out of form and Bairstow has somehow made it to 75 tests (!).

1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammad Siraj

India's batting looks equally hopeless in these conditions, hence why I'd have preferred England to bowl first, with a long tail. No Ashwin so it's down to Jadeja for the spin, and Sharma's missed out due to an injury.

Let the low-scoring test commence. Not expecting either side to score 300+ in this one.

I'm struggling to understand the Ashwin decision from India too - both teams clearly just don't think the pitch will spin much? (albeit India of course still have Jadeja, but Ashwin is the better bowler by a fair way I'd say).

JDizzle wrote:

...

It sounds like Guildford's inside info is correct and Pope will miss out! And Bairstow is favourite to bat at 5 rather than Lawrence. Things in his favour are he averages over 50 in FC cricket, so he has runs at that level that Lawrence and Crawley can only dream of, but obviously there is the major problem that he is bowled by anything even near the stumps and he averages 22 in Tests since the start of 2018. I suspect he probably would outscore Lawrence over the course of a series batting 5, but it remains an uninspiring pick.

Ha!

Tbf, it was more what I wasn't hearing about Pope that gave me doubts.

Very surprised that Ashwin isn't playing. Staggered tbh, if not an injury. Guess some of you guys will know more? He played one CC match for Surrey at the Oval last month and absolutely ran through Somerset on the last day.

OK I am a bit off duty for this being a bit of an Olympic Junkie. Will try to keep an eye on it though...

England going with a long batting list and just four bowlers , eh ? Expect a bit for the seamers do they , then ? Obviously not for the spinners as I see India left out Ashwin.

Root toss win is a decent start. Bat down to nine , if perhaps not with rolled gold class in all spots

Good luck boys...

Why no Leach? Means Jimmy and Stuart have to bowl more overs. Perhaps they've looked at the weather forecast which aint good and they've realised it will be a b it stop-start so not full days' play.

England will be pleased Ashwin is not playing.

Bairstow lower down the order is a far better idea than playing him higher up. Still think he's got some more Test runs in his armoury.