England take on New Zealand in three tests, starting at Lord’s on June 2 live on Sky Sports; Brendon McCullum remembers James Anderson and Stuart Broad after the pair missed March’s Test series loss in the West Indies; Harry Brook and Matthew Potts receive the first calls
Stuart Broad (L) and James Anderson (R) have been called up to the England squad for the first test against New Zealand.
It’s been a busy few months for England men’s cricket; they have a new managing director, a new head coach and a new white ball coach announced on the same day as their first tryout team of the summer.
With it came the return of some familiar names to the setup, most notably James Anderson and Stuart Broad, but also some new emerging talent like Harry Brook and Matthew Potts.
New England men’s cricket MD Rob Key said of the team’s launch: “There are some very talented cricketers in this country and we just need to unlock that and get them to play the best they can.”
Tasked with unlocking that talent will be the new combination of head coach and captain, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. Ahead of his first test in charge, against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2, we take a look at what the England XI will look like…
Those closely affiliated with Kent Cricket have always believed they possessed a future England batsman in Zak Crawley, and Rob Key still thinks they do. But the future must be now.
Selection for this summer’s first Test against New Zealand points to Crawley retaining his top spot alongside Durham’s Alex Lees, despite averaging just 19.50 in the County Championship so far this season.
While the talent is undisputed, questions about Crawley continue to surround his consistency on the test stage and whether his style can fit in as a long-term solution to England’s top-tier problems.
“Crawley has been selected for his potential,” former England captain Nasser Hussain said. “It’s been a feast or famine for him; he scored 100 in the first test in the Caribbean and scored four single figures, he scored 70 in Sydney [in The Ashes] and not much else, got that 250 [last year versus Pakistan] at the Ageas Bowl and not much else.
“The reason for this is that he has a little technical issue with his bat crossing the line of the ball and as a starter, he plays a booming breakthrough early on and has been found wanting with the technical flaw that he has.
“I hope he has taken a look at his game. With the Dukes ball in England against the New Zealand attack, as much as you want to play positive, attacking cricket, you also have to play the situation as a starter.
“You want your opening to be a little more consistent, so I see why they’ve stuck with Crawley, but you can only live off potential for so long.”
“And with all the changes of captains, coaches and directors of cricket, the biggest change I want is for Joe Root to go 120-2, not 20-2.”
There had been talk of Crawley possibly moving to No. 3 in the order, to make way for another starter, but instead it looks like Ollie Pope has a chance to make the spot his own, even though he’s never hit there before.
Pope has scored 417 runs at 69.50 for Surrey this season, and while trading the 24-year-old is a risk, it’s one England are willing to take in the hope that Pope can translate his county’s form to the scene. international.
“I don’t have any real problem with that, I think he has the technique and the temperament,” Key said. “It’s up to us to get the best out of him, that’s my take on all of that, give him the backing to go and do it so we can finally see the potential that we all believe he has.”
“If you ask who’s the best No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, you’d probably put Joe Root as all of those. Then after that, we feel like Ollie Pope He is the man.
“With a lot of those guys now, the bet is that with the talent that they have, with this environment, these managers, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, we will bring out the best in one of our most talented cricketers.
“Ollie Pope is one of those, if we can unlock him, which I think we can, there’s a really good test cricketer in there, whether it’s 3, 4 or 5, he could be a very, very good test match batsman and I think he will do a good job.”
In contrast to his output in county cricket, Pope has averaged just 28.66 in 23 Test matches for England, achieving a peak score of 35 at The Ashes over the winter and having scored fifty only once (81 against India) in his last 12 tests. Departures
“Duncan Fletcher used to say to me at draft meetings, ‘It’s like an investment, when you pick somebody, it’s an investment in the future,’ and anyone who’s seen Pope bat for Surrey in the last two or three years will know what talent has,” Hussain said.
“The problem is that he hasn’t been able to transfer that onto the international stage lately, he looks a bit frantic, a bit chaotic in the fold.
“I think Rob Key basically told him, ‘If you want to be on this side right now, with Harry Brook and Jonny Bairstow, and Stokes and Root, you’re going to have to hit No. 3,’ and that’s one option.” he has to take on board”.
Such has been the focus on batting frailties, new faces, bowling injuries and the proposed new chapter for England Test cricket, one story to go unnoticed has been that of Joe Root beginning his life without the captaincy.
