Ben Foakes

Foakes is the man in possession of the gloves, having played in all three Tests of England’s tour of the Caribbean in March. But he had a difficult time, rounding off the series with two single-figure scores in Grenada. The Surrey keeper has bounced back in the County Championship though; his 132 not out against Warwickshire in the opening round of fixtures was his 12th first-class hundred. Scores of 45, 63, 48* and 16 have followed. A back injury ruled him out of Surrey’s match with Gloucestershire last week but he returned to his position behind the stumps against Northamptonshire in the latest round of matches.

Jos Buttler

Having lost the Test gloves to Foakes for the West Indies Tests, Buttler’s recent focus has been on the shortest form – he’s been in blistering form for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Three hundreds and three fifties in 11 innings have seen Buttler climb to the top of the run-scoring table in the competition. He launched a return to the Test set-up in 2018 through his IPL form; it remains to be seen whether he can repeat that feat.

Jonny Bairstow

Currently playing for Punjab Kings in the IPL, Bairstow has experienced a Test resurgence in the last six months. A hundred in the Ashes Down Under and another one away in the West Indies was a reminder of his ability at the red-ball level. The comeback has been as a specialist batter at No.6, but Ben Stokes is now set to return to that position. Bairstow may now face the challenge of batting at No.5, where he averages 27.97, a significant drop from his career average of 34.53. Could another option be to resume his stop-start Test career as a gloveman? It’s in that role where he’s had most of his success, hitting five tons and averaging 37.37.

Sam Billings

Another player at the IPL, and more famed for his short-format skills, Billings made a surprise debut in the fifth Ashes Test at Hobart in January after injuries to Buttler and Bairstow. The Kent man has averaged 19.80 in six IPL matches this year, however, and wasn’t a part of the touring party for the West Indies series, suggesting he remains low down in the pecking order.

James Bracey

Gloucestershire’s Bracey opened the Championship season with hundreds in back-to-back matches, adding to his century for England Lions in Australia over the winter. His form has tailed off slightly in recent weeks, but the left-hander has bounced back after a nightmare start against New Zealand that saw him average 2.66 from two Tests. With his Lions hundred coming at No.3 as a specialist batter, any future as an international player seems more likely to be in that role.

Michael Burgess

Now to those who haven’t played international cricket. Warwickshire keeper Burgess has had an excellent start to the season, putting up consecutive scores of 178 and 170 against Surrey and Essex respectively. Both innings have been packed with powerful hitting, helping lift Burgess’ first-class batting average to a tidy 36.96 after 56 matches.

Ben Brown

Veteran keeper Brown recently told Wisden that he still has hopes of an England call-up. He would bring a wealth of first-class experience to the set-up and has settled in well at Hampshire after his move from Sussex earlier this year. His 157 against Kent was his 23rd first-class century, and he moved to the landmark of 9,000 first-class runs this week.