England’s scarcity of Ashes options exposed
Crucial No. 3 spot to be contested between Ballance and Vince
The selectors meet today to pick the Ashes squad and face the unpalatable prospect of having to pick players with a past record of failure for the relentless demands of touring Australia.
The absence of any new batsmen to emerge this summer in either Test or championship cricket leaves the selectors looking at old faces Gary Ballance and James Vince to make up the top order options in the squad.
Ballance is the captain’s pick and Joe Root has faith in his Yorkshire colleague to be able to hold down a place in the England side although there is an acceptance now it has to be at five and not three.
Vince is liked by Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, and fits his mould of the shot-playing, aggressive batsmen he would like to see at No. 3 in the order. But Vince was given seven Tests last summer, failed to score more than 42 in any innings and was found wanting outside off stump.
His summer for Hampshire has been moderate with an average of 34 and he had planned a winter playing in T20 leagues around the world.
Tom Westley had one final chance on Monday to provide the selectors with proof he should go to Australia but was out for 13 for Essex and in the process of gloving a catch to slip he suffered a nasty blow to his right thumb. An x-ray later confirmed bruising rather than a break so he remains in contention for an Ashes place but his inconsistency in Test cricket and lack of big scores since returning to Essex for the championship run-in have given Vince an opening.
Dawid Malan managed two 60s in the series against West Indies to seal a place in the Ashes squad but, while both innings were admirable displays of mental strength, they were also unconvincing too and there will be much to decide in the batting order in the three warm-up games before the first Test.
Ballance averaged 101 in the early-season championship rounds to earn a second recall by England but his backfoot game was again found wanting against the pace of South Africa and he was on his last chance when he broke a finger at Trent Bridge.
The injury was worse than first indicated and took two months to properly heal. In the two matches he has played since returning to fitness, Ballance has made four scores in the 20s, and the difficulty of batting on damp September pitches with teams needing results has not made the job of the selectors any easier.
A large part of Mark Stoneman’s success this season has been his ability to make crucial scores at the right time in county cricket. He pushed his cause with early-season runs and then followed up being ignored for the South Africa series with championship hundreds and a century in the Royal London final for Surrey. He made another hundred last week, dominating county attacks in the way Test cricketers are supposed to but others have failed to manage.
Bowlers selection
The selections of Westley, Ballance or Vince would not give England an alternative opener in the tour squad, something that Keaton Jennings and Alex Hales have in their favour. But Jennings has been in woeful form for Durham since he was dropped by England and Hales’s move down the order at Notts brought one big double hundred but little else. It means county form has to count for nothing as far as judging batsmen is concerned when the selectors talk today. Having the Lions on tour in Australia at the same time is a smart move and provides cover if needed.
Bayliss had made it clear he only wants batsmen with previous Test experience in the squad but there is a willingness to gamble elsewhere. Ben Foakes and Mason Crane have been earmarked for Ashes selection all summer.
Crane has struggled to find a place in the Hampshire side this summer and, even though he appears to have the confidence to handle the big occasion, there are doubts over his maturity as a bowler in fourday cricket.
If Moeen Ali is injured, Crane would have to be good enough to be considered a frontline spinner in an Ashes Test and that would call for bowling maidens and being able to apply constant pressure for the seamers at the other end. Adil Rashid’s red ball career was ended by England after the India tour but he remains a much better batsman than Crane and Jack Leach is the best spinner in county cricket but a leggie is thought to be more of a threat in Australia.