Another disappointing series in the Caribbean after tiny shoots of hope in the first two Tests (mainly hitting over 300 in three innings out of four) the usual and predictable problems returned when the pitch offered a hint of anything off the straight and without a number of key bowlers (for various reasons) we looked tidy but at times wholly ineffective.
The obvious question marks over Root are completely fair and had we any obvious candidates to replace him I’m sure he’d be moved on or he’d take himself out of the firing line. All things must be considered no matter how whacky the options may seem. You never ideally want to pick a captain that isn’t in the best XI, but we barely have half a side that could be considered certainties when fully fit. Ben Stokes is one of those definite picks but I sincerely hope we don’t add more to his plate, I’d settle for a full all-rounder role for Stokes without any other responsibilities.
Naturally the entire domestic set up and schedule is scrutinised and criticised in equal measure, as is the quality of cricketers earning a living in county cricket and the pitches we play on in the CC. It isn’t solely down to Root as to why we’re currently so poor we simply don’t have good enough batsmen to set Test match victories up and so county cricket must be investigated and improvements worked out, this is not an overnight resolution.
As an England squad going forward into this summer, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood are the only players that would be guaranteed spots in an England squad (say of 15) if fully fit. For me I’d stick with Dan Lawrence as I really think he has something, admittedly how he copes when his technical issues are exposed will decide how long a run he gets. Other than that you can stick Lees, Crawley, Burns, Sibley, Pope, Bairstow, Buttler, Vince, and any other form players at the time in a hat and pull them out at random. I would like to see Pope come again, but I’d also want to see him score plenty of CC runs first.
The bowling depth is much deeper, especially in home conditions. If Anderson and Broad are available they must play in the New Zealand series, even if they’re rotated. Pacey options including Wood, Archer, Mahmood and Stone could potentially be exciting, then those that tend to be effective in our conditions such as Woakes, Robinson and Overton will be in with a shout (especially Robinson). Liam Norwell and Sam Cook can continue to knock on the door.
