Harry Brook is doing his best to make England look silly.
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Since he was controversially left out of their 2023 Cricket World Cup squad, basically every innings he’s played has been a masterclass. While he insists he’s got nothing to prove, his bat is making a case of its own. A 36-ball 67 in the second T20I against New Zealand is his latest bullet point.
England, however, have their own argument, and the decision to leave Brook out is not as baffling as some have suggested. In short, Brook isn’t in their first-choice top seven, which consists, at the moment, of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, and Liam Livingstone. They have opted to pick as many bowling options as possible in a tournament that will see them traverse one of the world’s biggest countries over and over again in a six-week period. And Dawid Malan, who has done little wrong, is seen as being more versatile.
If they want to get Brook in, then, something has to give. And Buttler has hinted that a change might be possible. Here are six possible routes into England’s squad.
Drop Dawid Malan
Malan is England’s back-up bat, and hence, you’d think, the most likely to make way for Brook. He was dropped during The Hundred by Trent Rockets as Brook carved up for Northern Superchargers. And if you were to ask most English observers, maybe even the England team management, they would admit that Brook is the more exciting talent.
But Malan is used to questions arising over his place, and his answer is usually to make loads of runs, something he did in the first T20I with a mature half-century. He can also open, something Brook is yet to prove he can do, and England will want cover for the member of their batting order most likely to need replacing mid-tournament.
Drop Jason Roy
That man is Jason Roy. I know, sacrilege. He’s a World Cup winner, and one of the greatest ODI openers of all time. But he’s also streaky, and right now not in his best form. While he did make centuries in each of his last two series, those are his only centuries against Full Members since the 2019 World Cup, in which time he averages just 32 with the bat. He also had a lean campaign in The Hundred, passing 30 just once and averaging 17.
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That Malan is England’s Roy replacement is an oft-unspoken part of the debate: were England’s opening pair rock-solid, perhaps they wouldn’t need a contingency plan as much. Roy’s ODI form this year has been good, and he has plenty of credit in the bank. But should he endure a lean ODI series against New Zealand, it’s not impossible that another pre-World Cup axe could fall.
Drop Liam Livingstone
From a batting point of view, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks a top six with Livingstone or Moeen in it is better than one with Brook. But, with Stokes’ bowling workload set to be limited, England feel they need an extra bowling option, something Buttler has favoured throughout his tenure.
Do they need that, though? In the 2019 World Cup, England’s sixth bowler got through fewer than five overs per game. Is it possible that Joe Root could make up any shortfall? And are we really to expect that, after six weeks’ rest, Stokes won’t be able to get through what might amount to 15 overs in a month and a half?
The flip side is how much balancing England’s attack will need. Their quicks are older than in 2019, and conditions will favour them less. Sam Curran is still something of a work in progress as an ODI bowler. Adil Rashid’s troublesome shoulder has settled for now, but needed managing last time. It’s a balancing act, but every run Brook scores adds another weight to one side of the scales.
Drop David Willey
Willey is the one member of England’s 2019 World Cup squad that it’s hard to see becoming first-choice based on performances alone during the tournament, so perhaps he should be the man to go. It would be extraordinarily harsh to pick him in a provisional squad only to leave him out of the actual squad for two ODI World Cups in a row. Equally, perhaps that’s their secret to success.
You could argue too that in India, the extra seamer isn’t needed, and if there is an injury, England can always call in a reserve. But a look at the others in England’s squad shows why they have opted for depth. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are 34 and 33, and each has struggled with injuries. Gus Atkinson is a 90mph quick, a fragile object to be handled with care, and will be on his first England tour.
Wait for an injury
Speaking of the reserves, that is likely where Brook will start the competition. But that doesn’t mean he will finish it there. Each of England’s last three tournaments has seen someone hampered along the way, with Malan missing the latter stages in 2022, Roy the same in 2021, and Roy also absent for part of the 2019 World Cup. It’s a long tournament, and even if Brook isn’t there at the start, he might be at the end.
Petition the ICC to allow for a 16th player
OK, this is fanciful. But it’s not impossible to conceive of expanded squads in the future. The football World Cup allows for 26-man squads, a whole team more than cricket permits. IPL squads can also get towards that number in size. In these workload-aware times, perhaps allowing for bigger touring parties might be an enlightened move.
Is forcing teams into compromises between batting and bowling depth an added tactical intrigue, or something that needs to be moved past in an age dominated by match-ups and conditions-based picks? Might Brook, a bonafide superstar, missing out on a World Cup because of England’s need to cover all areas, be the wake-up call cricket’s governing body needs? We won’t hold our breath.
