Foakes set to keep and why Root is batting at No.3: Five things we learned from Andrew Strauss’ press conference

Aside from the selection panel’s decision to drop England’s two most prolific wicket-takers, Strauss addressed a number of key issues regarding the Test side following the 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia. Eight players who were selected for that tour have missed out on selection for the three-Test series in the Caribbean.

Here’s a look at the key points Strauss made:

Stuart Broad and James Anderson could still play this summer

Backing up his comments in a press release on Tuesday, Strauss made it clear that he does not see this as the end of James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s Test careers.

“[It’s] an opportunity to get some good young bowling talent into the environment for the first time, to allow some of the bowlers that have been playing a role in the team to play either a slightly different role or more of a senior leadership role,” said Strauss. “And then, when the new director of cricket and coach are appointed, hopefully they’ll have more information to base their decisions going forward on what’s our best bowling attack. But I fully expect that both Stuart Broad and Anderson will be in the selection mix-up for the start of the summer.”

Strauss revealed that he’d spoken to both Broad and Anderson, revealing that “they were disappointed and I wouldn’t expect anything otherwise”.

“I got no impression from either of them that this was the end of the road or that they saw it as the end of the road for them,” he added. “I fully expect them to go away and prepare themselves for the summer and make sure they’re putting their name in the frame for selection.”

Joe Root has made the call to bat at No.3

With Dawid Malan discarded, Strauss also revealed that Joe Root will bat at No.3 in the Caribbean, an idea that was proposed by the England captain in the selection meeting for the West Indies tour. Root has hit 1,933 Test runs at No.3, at an average of 38.66, which is a significant downturn on his numbers at No.4, where he’s amassed more than 5,000 runs at 51.27.

“That obviously allows us to potentially tackle that top-order problem, which has been a thorn in our side for a long time now,” said Strauss. “Joe moving up obviously creates space for some of the slightly less experienced players to get a slot in that middle order.

“I just feel like he wants to take responsibility. And he’s done that consistently with the bat over the last 18 months or so. Over his entire career, really. He recognises that if the top order don’t lay the foundations, it makes it very difficult for those coming in in the middle order. And he can help us with that. And so, as I said, that was his request, came completely from him at the start of the meeting.”

‘Variety’ behind bowling decisions

Emphasising on the need for England to improve their record away from home, Strauss referenced the need for “variety” in England’s bowling attack. “When you look at the team we’ve selected, we’ve obviously got someone like Mark Wood  who give us that x-factor, that extra pace. I think we’re looking at Saqib Mahmood as someone who can develop into that type of bowler. He is not express pace at the moment, but he’s a good reverse swing bowler. And then you want the sort of tall hit-the-deck bowlers and the bowlers that are able to swing the ball. We try to have that variety in the attack so that whatever the conditions we can exploit those.”

With leg-spinner Matt Parkinson coming into the squad – Dom Bess has been dropped despite not playing a match in the Ashes – Strauss also pointed to a desire for different skillsets in the spin department. “You need to have the option of playing two spinners [in the West Indies]. I think just at the moment, with those selections, we’ve obviously got all bases covered in terms of left-arm spin, off-spin in Joe Root, and then the leg-spinner. Parkinson is a very accurate leg-spinner. His record domestically is excellent. And it’s an opportunity for us to have a look at him.”

Ollie Robinson has to work on his fitness

Strauss was questioned on the decision to pick Ollie Robinson, who was publicly urged to improve his fitness by England bowling coach Jon Lewis at the back-end of the Ashes. With Anderson and Broad out of the picture, Robinson looks set to take the new ball in the Caribbean and although Strauss praised the Sussex quick’s ability as a bowler, he admitted that there was work to be done in regards to his fitness.

“Ollie has been very impressive,” Strauss said. “I think in terms of his capabilities, I think he’s shown everyone that he has the potential to be a genuinely world-class bowler, in all conditions. His conditioning currently is not what it needs to be. And I think he’s beginning to understand just how hard international cricket is because you can’t operate at a level that’s not 100 per cent. It’s very hard to do that. So he’s working very hard at the moment to get that conditioning up.”

Ben Foakes is set to take the gloves

Strauss also talked about the omission of Jos Buttler, who has been England’s first-choice wicketkeeper since 2019. In comes Ben Foakes, who is the first-choice pick to take the gloves in the Caribbean, Strauss revealed. “Jos has struggled a little bit with performance over the last 12 months or so. We’ve got a keeper-batter waiting in the wings who I think is widely acknowledged as the or one of the best keepers in the world, and a very, very good batsman in his own right,” said Strauss. “His record suggest that for both England and for Surrey. He’s waited patiently in the wings. And he fully deserves a chance.”