After four wins on the bounce, England succumbed to their first defeat under the McCullum–Stokes regime on Friday, falling by an innings against South Africa at Lord’s.
The Proteas bowled England out for 149 inside 38 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.
England’s new management have so far resisted from tinkering with their XI; the only changes made this summer have come after injuries or illness. An ankle problem meant James Anderson was replaced by Jamie Overton for the final Test against New Zealand, while Sam Billings came in for Ben Foakes against India while the first-choice gloveman recovered from a bout of Covid-19.
Will the first loss of the new era lead to changes for the second Test at Old Trafford? England named a 14-man squad for the first two Tests, which means there are a few options on the bench who could press for a place.
Will England stick with Zak Crawley?
Crawley’s struggle for runs continues. Scores of nine and 13 moved his Test average this summer to 16.40 after five matches. Among those to have opened the batting as many times as him in the history of Test cricket, only Alec Bannerman and Javed Omar hold lower averages. His first-class average now sits at 29.36.
England’s management, however, have shown plenty of support for Crawley. After the Lord’s defeat, head coach Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports: “His technique and his style, what we’re asking from him is to try and chase great moments. To try and embrace the fact that inconsistency is going to be there because you’re that type of player. But when you get in and get the opportunity, go and win games for England.”
With that in mind, it seems unlikely that England will drop Crawley for the next Test, and the Kent opener’s case is perhaps helped by a lack of obvious replacements in England’s squad for the next Test. The only batter on the bench is Harry Brook, who has elevated himself into England contention through middle-order runs for Yorkshire.
Brook has said he would be open to batting at the top of the order, telling the Daily Mail earlier this month: “I feel like I’d do a job batting anywhere to be honest, and if I got an opportunity to play Test cricket opening the batting, obviously I’m going to take it.” Nonetheless, it would still be a surprise to see Crawley lose his place to Brook following McCullum’s latest pronouncement.
Will England make a change in the fast-bowling department?
Beyond Brook, the other two players waiting in the wings for England are both quicks: Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson. Both enjoyed productive outings for England Lions in their win over South Africa earlier this month, sharing 11 wickets in the match.
At Lord’s England were in debt to Stokes for intervening with the ball on the second evening after his main band of quicks had struggled for wickets – the England captain took the wickets of Sarel Erwee and Rassie van der Dussen in consecutive overs and ended up with figures of 3-71.
Anderson finished with 1-51 from his 18 overs, and while Stuart Broad and Matt Potts ended up sharing five wickets, England were outshone by South Africa’s quartet of quicks. Aside from bowling the hosts out for less than 200 twice, the visitors showcased their greater pace too – according to CricViz, their average speed of 86mph was the highest for an a visiting attack in England since records began in 2006.
But even if England change things up, throwing one of Robinson or Overton into the mix, they won’t be able to rival the Proteas on the pace front. Both quicks operate in the low eighties (mph) and are more reliant on accuracy and extracting any movement from the conditions on offer.
