England announced not only their first squad of the summer earlier today, for their upcoming tw0-Test series against New Zealand, but their first since Chris Silverwood was elevated into his dual role as both head coach and selector.
There were no surprises. James Bracey and Ollie Robinson, who have both spent much of the past year in various bubbles with the senior Test squad, are the only uncapped players in the 15-man squad and Craig Overton’s sustained excellence for Somerset has been rewarded with a recall. As expected, England’s IPL contingent have been rested.
However, despite there being no unforeseen shocks, there is plenty to glean from Silverwood’s first squad in his new role.
A change in balance will be necessary
One of the main questions before the squad announcement was how England would balance their XI in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes and his fellow all-rounders Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali. The non-selection of any all-rounders who bat in the top seven in county cricket is an indication that England, without such a player, will likely deviate from their normal formula of fielding five frontline bowlers.
Overton and Robinson are both capable lower-order batsmen – each averages over 30 with bat in hand in this year’s County Championship – but it would be unreasonable to ask either to perform a task – batting seven – in Test cricket that they rarely perform at the level below. With Dan Lawrence likely to make the XI if England field four frontline bowlers, it may well be that the combination of himself and Joe Root will allow England to play four quicks and no specialist spinner.
A Foakes home debut looks likely
While it remains an outside possibility that Bracey could don the gloves and bat at either six or seven, the overwhelming likelihood is that Ben Foakes will finally play his first home Test. It’s been three and a half years since Foakes was first included in an England Test squad and when called upon, he’s generally acquitted himself well with both bat and most memorably, with the gloves.
All eyes on Australia
It is obvious that England’s priority in Test cricket over the next nine months is this winter’s Ashes series despite this summer’s engagements coming against the number one and two ranked sides in the world.
The first sentence of Silverwood’s statement that accompanied the squad announcement read: “Playing the top two teams in the world, in New Zealand and India, is perfect preparation for us as we continue to improve and progress towards an Ashes series in Australia at the back end of the year.”
England are likely to give game time to at least one of Overton and Robinson, a pair who are ostensibly England’s eighth and ninth choice quicks when everyone is fit and available. Silverwood revealed that England have, for a while, planned to avoid giving players debuts in Australia. While such forward planning is admirable, going into a series against the number two side in the world without so many Test regulars does appear to be somewhat risky, and a decision with the potential to blow up in their face.
Remaining selection questions
There are still questions lingering over the identity of some of the top six spots as well as the members of the seam attack. Bracey’s versatility (and recent performances for Gloucestershire) means that he’s a viable option pretty much anywhere in the top seven. Given Dom Sibley’s 2020, Rory Burns’ start to the 2021 county season, and Zak Crawley’s obvious pedigree at Test level, it would be harsh on any of them to make way for Bracey in the top three. Equally, given the starts made to the season by Lawrence and Ollie Pope, it’s hard to see how Bracey slots in lower down the order. Prior to the squad announcement England’s managing director of men’s cricket Ashley Giles suggested England would use this series to blood in “new faces”. Given their desire to avoid giving debuts during the Ashes, Bracey has a good chance of playing even if it’s unclear where.
England have also named six seamers. If they do go in with four, you’d think their attack would consist of Stuart Broad, James Anderson, one of Mark Wood or Olly Stone and one of Overton or Robinson, giving a balance of out-and-out pace and English seam capabilities to accompany the established new-ball pair
County performances are still valued
An accusation levelled at the England set-up over recent years, particularly during Ed Smith’s tenure as national selector, was that County Championship performances were often not taken seriously enough when it came to England selection. That is a hard line of reasoning to pursue after the announcement of this particular squad. Robinson and Overton have utterly dominated the county game in recent years. There is clearly still room for those on the county treadmill to force their way into contention through sheer weight of run-scoring and wicket-taking.
