“Ed Smith and his selection panel have been excellent this summer for the most part,” Hussain said in a column for Sky Sports. “They’ve made some brave, bold choices and I’ve enjoyed the way they’ve gone about their work. But the real test is now.”

“If it’s X-factor you’re after then I would take Olly Stone, who has pace and the right skiddy trajectory; he targets the stumps a lot and is capable of reversing it,” he said. “I’d also take Jamie Overton for more pace but if you take those two, you have to leave one of Woakes, Anderson and Broad out.”

Hussain did offer hope to Woakes, saying any exclusion shouldn’t be permanent. “All three of them [Broad, Anderson, Woakes] are international cricketers and all three of them would start every single Test in England, including the Ashes next summer,” he said.

“You have to remember that there is a World Cup in England next summer and Woakes is an integral part of England’s one-day side; it may be worth letting him focus in on white-ball cricket for a little while. But let me be clear, I’d still have him in my side for the first Ashes Test.

Nasser’s squad: Burns, Vince, Ali, Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Buttler, Pope, S Curran, Rashid, Leach, Anderson, Broad, Stone, Overton, Denly

Nasser’s first Test XI: Burns, Vince, Ali, Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Buttler, S Curran, Leach, Stone, Anderson