Lyth and Ballance back as England still search for opening answer
ALEX HALES may have confirmed his place as Alastair Cook’s latest Test opening partner with his maiden one-day century, but England are planning to recall two familiar faces to back him up in South Africa.
Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance are favourites for the spare batting places when England’s squad for next month’s tour is announced on Thursday as they attempt to offer maximum support for another rookie opener.
The failure of Moeen Ali against Pakistan means Hales, who hit 109 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Friday, will be Cook’s eighth Test opening partner since Andrew Strauss’s retirement three years ago.
But it will be asking a lot of Hales to be an instant hit against a very strong South African attack in a four-Test series on their own patch and England want to put together the best contingency plan.
That means not one but two batsmen who could open in the event of Hales going the same way as the others who have tried and failed to fill Strauss’s shoes in the team’s biggest problem position.
Lyth failed after struggling in last summer’s Ashes to add to his century at Headingley against New Zealand and was left out of the party that lost 2-0 to Pakistan here.
Yet there is a feeling that the Yorkshireman is the best alternative to Hales and can come back stronger for his tribulations against the Australians when he was found vulnerable outside offstump. Ballance, meanwhile, was a huge success at the start of his Test career at No 3 but developed technical issues before being left out after defeat by Australia at Lord’s and he was replaced by Jonny Bairstow.
Now he is seen as another option at the top or in the middle of the order even though there is a suggestion he has been slow to recognise the issue that led to his omission.
James Whitaker, chairman of the selectors, arrives in Dubai tomorrow to discuss with coach Trevor Bayliss what might become a 17man squad as England get ready to take on the world’s No1 ranked team. Back-ups to Hales will provide most debate, with another intriguing option in Nick Compton sure to feature.
Compton made a better fist than most of replacing Strauss when he hit two centuries against New Zealand in 2013 before he appeared to freeze in the final Test ahead of the Ashes and was left out as Joe Root was promoted. Yet a cloud remains over him because he was perceived to have exaggerated a rib injury that stopped him fielding against New Zealand, leading, to coin a phrase, to ‘trust issues’ with Cook.
It will be fascinating to see if such issues count against Compton or whether he is overlooked because Bayliss would prefer Cook’s opening partner to be more assertive. Ben Stokes is expected to be fit after a collarbone injury and Steven Finn will be picked even though he may not be ready for the first Test in Durban on Boxing Day.
Mark Wood looks certain to delay ankle surgery and may rely on injections to get him through a series in which he could be a key figure after his outstanding bowling against Pakistan. That leaves England needing to decide whether to stick with Adil Rashid as their second spinner and to include Jos Buttler as back-up to Bairstow.
In both cases, they are likely to retain players for whom they have a high regard.