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England selectors take calm view to batting questions
- Updated: May 12, 2016
Just as you wouldn’t expect to hear an hour of Belgian jazz if you went to see Kylie Mingoue in concert, so you probably shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of surprises in an England squad.
Continuity of selection has been a significant policy in recent years. And, while there are times that might appear to frustrate progress, it is almost certainly a price worth paying. Nobody wants to return to the bad old days when England picked 29 men in a series (the Ashes of 1989) or the sense of uncertainty and selfishness that fostered in the dressing room.
Both the changes to the England squad for the first Investec Test are, to a point, enforced. James Vince comes in for the unfortunate James Taylor and Jake Ball takes the opportunity offered by injury to Mark Wood. Ball has, though, nudged in front of Chris Woakes, who is paying the price for a poor Test at the end of the tour of South Africa.
The bowling attack pretty much picked itself. Steven Finn will, barring injury, almost certainly fill the spot of third seamer behind Stuart Broad and James Anderson and Moeen Ali provides the spin option. Perhaps, later in the summer, the likes of Adil Rashid and Simon Kerrigan might squeeze Moeen but the combination of his batting ability and calm temperament provide an edge at this stage. He is generally regarded as the best available offspinner now, too, though his batting has regressed a little.
Ball has bowled beautifully this season. He maintains an immaculate length and has the skill to move the ball either way which should stand him in good stead even on Test surfaces. He is not the quickest, by any means, and looks a Test No. 11 with the bat but if he wins an opportunity on the sort of pitches we saw in Tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge last year, he will flourish.
The batting was more problematic. Neither Nick Compton or Alex Hales made a definitive case for themselves in South Africa and Sam Robson, in particular, must have pushed them hard. Perhaps, had Ian Bell had no fitness concerns and had Gary Ballance looked in better form, things may have been different. The door is not shut on any of them.
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