Wisden writers pick their England XIs for the first India Test

Ben Stokes’ late withdrawal from the England squad changes the hosts’ plans for the start of the series. With Sam Curran back in the fold, they have the option of an all-rounder to rebalance the side, a luxury they didn’t have when Stokesless for the New Zealand Tests. But given Stokes is more of a loss with the bat than with the ball, and England’s shaky batting line-up elsewhere, they could choose to replace the all-rounder with a specialist bat.

There are also questions over the make-up of the top six, with Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley struggling for form and Haseeb Hameed back in the runs. Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope are both vying for a middle-order spot, though the latter remains a doubt for the first Test after suffering a thigh injury. Jonny Bairstow is also an option having been recalled.

In the bowling department, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Craig Overton will all hope to be picked to partner Stuart Broad and James Anderson, while Jack Leach and Dom Bess are competing for the spinner’s role.

Three Wisden writers have had their say on how England should line up. You can pick your England XI for the first India Test here:

Ben Gardner, Wisden.com managing editor

It’s only the distance between now and the New Zealand defeat that makes Zak Crawley’s selection even somewhat conceivable. He averages less than 30 after 14 Tests, a figure that drops to 10.25 in 2021, when he has passed 20 just once in 12 innings. There have been some white-ball runs in the interim, but not enough to convince that the underlying issues have dissolved. If England pick him, it’s based on the thinking that his game might be suited to Australian conditions, and so he should remain in the side until then, and blind hope. But if the question is who is most likely to make a match-defining score, it’s Haseeb Hameed. Elsewhere, Sam Curran and Ollie Robinson bolster the batting, and Jack Leach gets a much-deserved run in the side, at home, as first-choice spinner.

Taha Hashim, Wisden.com features editor

Haseeb Hameed’s case is an appetising one: 642 County Championship runs this summer at 45.85 and, more crucially, a century against India last month in Durham for the County Select XI. Zak Crawley, on the other hand, has hit 123 runs in his last 12 Test innings at 10.25 and looked a lost figure at the crease during the New Zealand series. But England should hold off a top-order rejig for now. Crawley remains one of England’s most gifted batsmen and isn’t one to give up on so easily – I think there’s more to him than that 267 and, coming off the back of a fine start to his England ODI career, he has runs, if not Test ones, to take into this series. He deserves one more shot.

With Ben Stokes not available, this feels like the right time for Sam Curran to return to the Test XI. India, at home – this is where his career took off back in 2018. Lower-order runs proved crucial in that series and Ollie Robinson at No.8 works well if it’s to be the same story this time round.

Yas Rana, Wisden.com head of content

I don’t think England will pick Hameed for the series opener but I would. He’s in form, he’s just hit two centuries in a week and one of those came against an Indian attack very close to the one he could face at Trent Bridge, his adopted home. In a line-up short on confidence, I want as many players who are in form there as possible.

Without Stokes I’m reverting to the formula England adopted at the end of last summer when the star all-rounder missed the last two Pakistan Tests with an all-rounder – Sam Curran – coming in at seven. On the field, Robinson looked every inch a Test cricketer on debut at Lord’s – don’t be surprised if he finishes as England’s bowler of the summer.

Broad, Anderson and Leach should be shoo-ins. The latter hasn’t played a home Test since taking a final day four-for in an Ashes victory at The Oval two years ago. He is England’s best spinner and rarely lets England down and should always play when available.