Following on from their 3-1 series win over South Africa, England’s next Test assignment will come in much different conditions when they head to the subcontinent to contest a two-Test series. The balance of England’s attack, which seamers should draw the short straw and have to make the journey on a potentially thankless tour, and whether batsmen should be considered as specialist picks have all been hot topics for discussion.

Wisden writers Phil Walker, Jo Harman, James Wallace, Ben Gardner, Taha Hashim and Yas Rana pick out who they think should make England’s Test squad for Sri Lanka:

Phil Walker, Wisden Cricket Monthly editor-in-chief

1.    Zak Crawley
2.    Dom Sibley
3.    Joe Denly
4.    Joe Root (c)
5.    Ben Stokes
6.    Ollie Pope
7.    Jos Buttler (wk)
8.   Chris Woakes
9.   Dom Bess
10. Mark Wood
11.  Jack Leach

12. Jonny Bairstow
13. Sam Curran
14. Ben Foakes
15. Dan Lawrence

I found this latest thankless task quite tricky. I guess the biggish thing is deciding to leave Anderson and Broad at home. Despite appearances, careers are finite, and they’re too important for the tussles to come – plus Broad has three wickets in Sri Lanka at 83 and while Jimmy has 12 from six games, he was a bystander last time out, with one wicket from two Tests. I’d definitely go with Wood – pace through the air could be crucial – while Chris Woakes and Sam Curran can duke it out for the not especially coveted ‘second seamer at No.8′ slot; I’d lean towards Woakes as the more reliable bowler.

[caption id=”attachment_137358″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Dan Lawrence‘s “funky allsorts” make their way into Phil Walker’s squad[/caption]

Of the other ‘question marks’, I think Denly deserves the last two Tests of the winter (we can pick up the debate again in April), and Buttler keeps his place. He’s too precious a talent to be discarded yet, and was brilliant with the bat when England toured there last. (It’s worth recalling that after his recall in 2018 he averaged 41 from 13 Tests – including three in Sri Lanka – before the World Cup kicked in and scrambled everyone’s minds.)

But on Buttler, if England choose to rest him and go with Foakes, the superior gloveman and a resourceful batsman with an obvious kinship for Sri Lanka, then I can absolutely get with that. International cricket is more a squad game than ever before. But it’s still Buttler in the long term for me.

I’ve picked Dan Lawrence in my squad – sure, it’s one-eyed, but he’s extremely talented, in form with the bat, plays spin well and is bowling his funky all-sorts very tidily for the Lions in Australia. He can possibly come in as a support spin option to the Somerset duo of Bess and Leach. Oh, and Moeen, I want to see him play Test cricket again, but not until he’s reacquainted himself with first-class cricket. I reckon England will see it the same way.

Jo Harman, Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine editor

1.   Dom Sibley
2.   Zak Crawley
3.   Joe Denly
4.   Joe Root (c)
5.   Ollie Pope
6.   Ben Stokes
7.   Ben Foakes (wk)
8.   Dom Bess
9.   Jack Leach
10. Mark Wood
11.  Stuart Broad

12. Keaton Jennings
13. Jos Buttler
14. Sam Curran
15. Matt Parkinson

Foakes takes the gloves and it’s a toss-up between Buttler and Bairstow to be his understudy. I’ve gone for Buttler because I want Bairstow to focus on getting back into the side as a specialist batsman without the distraction of keeping. Any suggestion of dropping Denly at this stage is nonsense and Jennings’ two Test centuries in Asia (as many as Gower, Root and Thorpe…) just get him the nod as back-up batsman.

With Moeen likely unavailable and Rashid not having played red-ball cricket for more than a year, only Leach survives from the spin triumvirate that was so successful last time out in Sri Lanka. Bess bowled nicely in South Africa, but that’s an area of big concern. Anderson reckons he’ll be fit but I’d rather he saves the overs he has left for conditions which better suit him (he took one wicket at 105 in Sri Lanka 2018).

[caption id=”attachment_137359″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Jack Leach, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid formed England’s spin triumvirate on the 2018 tour of Sri Lanka[/caption]

James Wallace, Wisden writer

1.    Dom Sibley
2.    Zak Crawley
3.    Joe Denly
4.    Joe Root (c)
5.    Ollie Pope
6.    Ben Stokes
7.    Ben Foakes (wk)
8.    Sam Curran
9.    Dom Bess
10.  Mark Wood
11.  James Anderson

12.  Chris Woakes
13.  Jack Leach
14.  Adil Rashid
15.  Stuart Broad

First off, Buttler is rested, he needs a break. Those players that played the World Cup and the Ashes need looking after, Archer’s elbow-enforced ennui should be a lesson learnt and acted upon. Foakes deserves his ‘second coming’; I want the best gloveman behind the stumps on pitches that are likely to spit more than a camel with a tobacco habit.

Bairstow is actually left at home this time to rest and “reset”. I reckon it is quite hard to do so when you find yourself on the other side of the world, on the fringes of the squad, suffering the ignominy of fetching and carrying for the junior members of the side. You could practically see him spitting blood as he sported his hi-vis in South Africa. Much better to have some time at home to fine-tune rather than blowing a gasket in a two-Test series in Sri Lanka.

[caption id=”attachment_137361″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Jonny Bairstow played the first Test on the tour of South Africa[/caption]

Jimmy says he’ll be fit so I think you have to trust him; he’ll relish getting some overs under his belt in tough conditions for seamers. I’m going to throw Adil Rashid in the mix: I want the Class of 2018 back together. Root’s increasingly proficient twiddles and Denly’s ‘dutty’ leggies will all help in the quest for 20 wickets. Chris Woakes’ batting is good enough to see him in as my back-up batsman.

Ben Gardner, wisden.com staff writer

1.   Dom Sibley
2.   Zak Crawley
3.   Joe Denly
4.   Joe Root (c)
5.   Ben Stokes
6.   Ollie Pope
7.   Ben Foakes (wk)
8.   Sam Curran
9.   Dom Bess
10. Jack Leach
11.  Mark Wood

12.  Jonny Bairstow
13.  Chris Woakes
14.  Matt Parkinson
15.  Sam Hain

I’m not sure what the rest of the panel are complaining about – I’d be comfortable with just my top 14 travelling, since Sam Hain will mostly be there to watch and learn. The trickiest question is Jonny Bairstow or Jos Buttler, but while the latter looks like he needs a rest and will probably never bat above No.5 in Test cricket, the former, in Sri Lanka at least, can bat anywhere from No.3 down, and needs far more than a rest to correct his flaws against the straight stuff – whether two weeks in the off season are spent in the subcontinent or elsewhere won’t make much difference to his long-term Test prospects either way.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson should save the overs left in them for the times when they’ll be the main men rather than spare parts. Chris Woakes and Sam Curran’s skills with the bat make them more valuable in Sri Lankan conditions, while Mark Wood’s skiddy pace can break the game open anywhere.

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Yas Rana, wisden.com staff writer

1.   Zak Crawley
2.   Dom Sibley
3.   Joe Root (c)
4.   Ben Stokes
5.   Ollie Pope
6.   Jos Buttler
7.   Ben Foakes (wk)
8.   Moeen Ali
9.   Sam Curran
10. Jack Leach
11.  Mark Wood

12.  Joe Denly
13.  Dom Bess
14.  Chris Woakes
15.  Matt Parkinson 

In the batting department, proficiency against spin is important considering only four England wickets fell to pace on their tour to Sri Lanka last winter. With that in mind, Jos Buttler retains his spot despite his recent troubles in Test cricket. He averaged over 40 there in 2018 and the flexibility in his approach against spin was unparalleled. Similarly, Ben Foakes comes back in. Player of the Series last time around and comfortably England’s best gloveman, he’s a shoo-in in my side. 

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If fit and available, Moeen Ali and Jack Leach must play. They are comfortably England’s two best spinners but given that they both may come into the series undercooked, albeit for very different reasons, I’m taking two reserve spinners in Dom Bess and Matt Parkinson. Bess was excellent in South Africa and despite talk of Parkinson’s lack of pace through the air, I still want that front-line wrist-spin option. Besides, his record in red-ball cricket is impressive, and he has rarely been afforded the chance of bowling on decks helpful for spin bowling.

Broad and Anderson are left at home; there is little point risking them on a tour where they will be required to bowl so few overs. Mark Wood’s pace through the air will be one of the main differentiators between the two sides and expect Ben Stokes to bowl more than usual – he was superb with the ball there in 2018.

Taha Hashim, wisden.com staff writer

1.   Dom Sibley
2.   Zak Crawley
3.   Joe Denly
4.   Joe Root (c)
5.   Ben Stokes
6.   Ollie Pope
7.   Ben Foakes (wk)
8.   Moeen Ali
9.   Chris Woakes
10. Mark Wood
11.  Jack Leach

12. Dom Bess
13. Sam Curran
14. Jos Buttler
15. Sam Northeast

Keaton Jennings’ average in Asia might have formed a stronger case had Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley ended the South Africa series in strife. Consecutive first-wicket stands of 70, 107 and 56 make the task simpler. Let the kids do their thing.

It’s time for Ben Foakes to return to where it all began so gloriously, with Jos Buttler dropped to the bench. There’s still a future there, though. Jonny Bairstow has been messed around with too much this winter: whatever happened to letting him “reset”? The county aficionados may rejoice with the choice of Sam Northeast as the spare batter. 

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England must pull out all the stops for Moeen Ali, who took 18 wickets in the 2018 series between the two sides, to make a Test return. Here’s hoping Jack Leach is feeling better, with Dom Bess the third spinner. Depending on conditions, he’ll be fighting out for a place as a controlling force in England’s attack. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been wrapped up for the summer. Saqib Mahmood is the first man on the plane if a seamer picks up an injury.