England’s win at Headingley keeps the series alive going into the fourth Test at Old Trafford, but with several injuries in their squad plus ever-pressing lapses in form, they have several questions to answer when selecting their XI.
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Ollie Pope’s dislocated shoulder has reignited England’s problems at three, with both of their makeshift solutions failing last week. Ollie Robinson was unable to bowl in Australia’s second innings, and with Ben Stokes’s body looking more broken with each shot he plays, the bowling lineup is another potential headache.
Despite the win, Jonny Bairstow’s keeping once again came under scrutiny as he dropped first Steve Smith and then Marnus Labuschagne. The latter brought England’s tally of drops up to 18, with Bairstow and Joe Root responsible for 12 of them. Given Bairstow’s failure with the bat in both innings, England must once again decide whether they can fit Ben Foakes back into the side.
Who bats three?
It’s highly unlikely that either Moeen Ali or Harry Brook will be dropped for the Old Trafford Test. But, given how out of position both looked at No.3, the prospect of either reprising that role in Manchester also looks doubtful.
If either was to come out at first drop again, Moeen looks the more favoured option – Brook was moved back down to five by Brendon McCullum for the second innings. Moeen asked to move up the order before the final innings at Headingley, but scored only five before he was bowled by Mitchell Starc playing a big booming drive.
If they want to look outside Moeen but don’t want to call up a new face, they can reopen the Root at three debate. That will provide the neatest solution to the jigsaw, with everyone moving a place up and Foakes slotting in at No.7 at the expense of one of the four seamers picked at Headingley.
However, if Root doesn’t feel his best offering for the side can come at three, coming off the back of four unconverted starts at four, England will likely have to call up a new face.
While Dan Lawrence has batted three for England in four innings, his highest score at that position is 26 and it’s unlikely he would step back into the role. This could spell a recall for Alex Lees, who scored centuries in each innings for Durham in his latest Championship match. Durham have played an attacking style of cricket this season, and Lees’ strike rate currently reads 70.60. Both Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley have experience batting at No.3, meaning a top order with Lees in it could come in any order.
How can they fit Foakes in?
Foakes’ two most likely routes into the side are either as a straight swap for Bairstow or if one of Moeen or Root bats at three. Bairstow has scored 141 runs in the series so far, with more than half of those runs coming in his first innings. However, given Bairstow’s importance to the side’s approach to chasing, and his average of 52.72 in the fourth innings without the gloves, the perfect scenario will be to have both him and Foakes in the side.
If England prioritise this over having a proper No.3, this could mean they opt not to call up a new name. In this scenario, Foakes will slot in at either seven or eight depending on where Moeen bats, and England will have a ridiculously long batting order. But that will come at the cost of one of their bowlers, and with Stokes looking less and less able to bowl as the series continues, this can be an uncomfortable prospect. Thus, if Bairstow continues in the side, it looks doubtful that Foakes will find a way back in.
What is the bowling attack?
England went in with four seamers at Headingley, a signal of Stokes’s fitness status. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood’s stellar performances on return make them difficult to drop. As ever, whenever there’s a taste of the kind of pace Wood offers, it’s hard to be without it going forward.
The nine-day gap between the two Tests may be enough for Wood’s fragile body to heal in time for Old Trafford. Similarly, it could spell Robinson’s path to four consecutive Tests if his back spasms relent. However, given Headingley was his third consecutive Test match, he will likely be rested for the fourth.
If Robinson is left out that could be as part of a way to get Foakes into the side by fielding a three-seam attack, but a more likely scenario is that England will find a way to go into four-seamers over picking Foakes, given they can’t rely on Stokes.
To replace Robinson, England have James Anderson and Josh Tongue to choose from. Anderson averages 22.02 at his home ground and will probably be the more trusted option over Tongue. If Wood’s fitness pulls up short or Stuart Broad also needs a rest after three consecutive games, that will be Tongue’s root back into the side.
Given the injury problems and tiredness among the fast-bowling group, England could need to call another bowler up to the squad. The likely recipient here will be Matthew Potts. Nevertheless, the bowling lineup with the series on the line will be almost entirely injury, rather than form, dependent.
