Test cricket shall return next week.
That’s right, it’s very close now. England will take on West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in the first of three Tests, and the hosts have been preparing with an intra-squad game at the same venue.
With captain Joe Root unavailable due to the birth of his second child, one area of England’s side which doesn’t seem set in stone is the top four. Four Wisden writers have plucked up the courage and offered their takes on who should take up those prized batting positions.
Phil Walker – Wisden Cricket Monthly editor-in-chief
Rory Burns
Dom Sibley
Zak Crawley
Dan Lawrence
The top two are easy for now. The homespun stylings of Burns (L) and Sibley (R) pair off rather well, even offering some vague, flimsy hope that we’ve landed on an opening partnership with the requisite stickability and phlegm to get the job done. Both are fresh, touchingly dull, and have recent tons against top-notch attacks. Neither are secure yet, and those quirks could yet turn into full-blown technical neuroses, but they have earned the right to waggle those backlifts and drop those hands for the full summer, or whatever it is we’re calling this thing.
Crawley next. He batted classily in the trial game, against Archer and Wood especially, and showed glimpses in South Africa that he has the game against the quicks. His reach makes him a formidable driver, he hits down on the short one, and has a lovely touch for a big man. Finally, if I may, Daniel Lawrence. He stands at slip in his baggy trousers with his feet splayed far too wide, hands in pockets, thinking about girls, and then bats like anything’s possible. His record since the technical shift last summer is ridiculous. He’s the man for his time and place.
Ben Gardner – Wisden.com managing editor
Rory Burns
Dom Sibley
Zak Crawley
Joe Denly
The temptation, of course, after four long cricketless months, is to get giddy in all the excitement and want England to unwrap all their shiny new toys at once. After all, we haven’t just missed watching the simple action of bat hitting ball; it’s everything else that goes with it, the endless speculation and the rapid overhyping. ‘James Bracey looks compact, could he be a bolter?’ says the voice inside your head, going haywire at being let loose. ‘Dan Lawrence can’t stop scoring runs since changing his technique, maybe he, finally, is the answer. Or we could get creative; Pope at four, Mo at six, and pack in all the bowlers you could want.’
But going too funky too soon would be a mistake. What England need, against a talented team they’ve been wrong to underestimate before, is the most solid, battle-hardened top four they can muster, even if, in this case, that does include a 22-year-old No.3 with four Tests, a high score of 66, and a first-class average of 32 to his name. He and his 34-year-old county teammate, who has rarely not played his part when England have won over the past year, can duke it out for the first-drop spot when Root returns. The time for tinkering will come soon enough.
Sam Dyer – Wisden staff writer
Rory Burns
Dom Sibley
Zak Crawley
Joe Denly
Burns and Sibley to open seems like the only fair choice. Both have done solidly in their short time for England and seem to gel well as an opening partnership, averaging a respectable 42.80. They seem the most likely mid-to-long term solution at the top for England, with a good weight of county runs behind each of them, so give them a chance I say.
Zak Crawley may well be in this for the long-haul and I see no reason to deprive him of an extra Test’s worth of experience. While he opens for Kent, and I strongly believe in the specialist nature of batting at three – quite apart from either opening or batting in the middle order – Crawley looks to have the aptitude required to make the No.3 spot his own.
Now for the biggest question: who to replace Root? My choice is made with the fact that whoever comes in will inevitably head straight back out again for the second Test. As such, Joe Denly seems like the perfect man for the job. He has already displayed versatility in moving up and down the order in his short Test career, so the shift from three to four shouldn’t upset him too much. He may not have set the world alight, but few have been as solid. Only once in 26 innings has he been dismissed having faced fewer than 10 deliveries, while on nine occasions he has faced over 100 balls. He may not score shed loads of runs, but he will provide a buffer between the inexperienced top order and the engine room of the middle order. Plus, it will be easy to push him aside for Root’s return.
Jim Wallace – Wisden staff writer (with a top six)
Rory Burns
Dom Sibley
Joe Denly
Ollie Pope
Ben Stokes
Dan Lawrence
For me, Burns is in up top, now wielding a Gray Nicolls like Cook and Athers before him and showing signs he could turn out to be as obdurate and unmovable. The slimmed-down Sibley has done enough to be given a run too, even if he does still look vulnerable to the delivery speared into the heartpit.
I’m sticking with Denly for now; Ed Smith and co. obviously like the way he soaks up deliveries and time – ‘The Kentish Sponge’ allowing others to do their thing. As ever, he needs runs and that elusive first ton. With Root away, I’m putting Pope at four, Stokes at five and trying Lawrence at six. He looks class.
