After a disappointing end to a winter that started promisingly, a number of England batsmen are less assured of their places than they were six months ago.

That’s not to say the axe is hovering over anyone in particular, but with eight rounds of the County Championship to be played ahead of England’s opening Test of the summer against New Zealand, there is plenty of time for players outside the current Test squad to put forward persuasive claims for selection and ample time for those who played in India to play their way out contention.

With none of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence, Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley averaging over 35 in Test cricket, there is a potentially a chance for a top-order batsman to enter the mix ahead of the first Test against New Zealand.

Here’s a look at the possible contenders:

James Bracey

The player on the list closest to the England side at present. Bracey was one of the reserves for the Sri Lanka and India tours and had a batsman picked up an injury in the build-up to the second India Test, with Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler already unavailable, he would almost certainly have debuted.

Bracey was restricted to just one first-class game last summer owing due to his time spent in the bio-bubble with the Test squad, but impressed in England Lions’ win in Australia earlier in the year as well as during England’s intra-squad friendly that preceded the West Indies series, where he top-scored with 85.

Bracey, 23, hasn’t yet had a breakout County Championship season; 2021 would be the perfect time to have it.

Tom Lammonby

The breakout star of the Bob Willis Trophy, Lammonby’s back-to-back second innings centuries in the final two games of Somerset’s campaign very nearly took his county to the trophy.

Still just 20, the former England U19 all-rounder has played just six first-class games. By the first Test of the summer, Lammonby is likely to have played 14 first-class matches, one fewer than the tally accumulated by Pope by the time he debuted at the same age back in 2018.

Joe Clarke

Long regarded as a future England batsman, Clarke, now 24, looked somewhere near his best in 2020, averaging just under 40 in the Bob Willis Trophy and leading Notts’ charge to the T20 Blast title. He was passed over in favour of Pope in a marginal call when the Surrey man made his Test debut in 2018.

Will Rhodes

In a couple of ways, Rhodes’ career mirrors that of his Warwickshire opening partner Dom Sibley. Both were tipped for prosperous futures at a young age and both left big counties in pursuit of first team cricket in their early 20s.

Rhodes has been one of the most consistent opening batsmen in county cricket since his move to Edgbaston; since the start of 2018, Rhodes averages 41.44 in first-class cricket. A strong start to 2021 could see Rhodes join his Warwickshire teammate at the top of the England order.

Sam Northeast

One of county cricket’s most consistent run-scorers for the best part of the last decade, Northeast can probably count himself unlucky to never have been part of an England Test squad. Now 31, the window of opportunity for Northeast is shrinking but a standout campaign could feasibly see him in the England set-up. Northeast is the same age Joe Denly was in 2018 when a barnstorming season saw him tour Sri Lanka later in the year and then embark on a 15-Test career.

Joe Denly

While there are more inspiring options than returning to a 34-year-old who averages less than 30 in Test cricket, it’s not out of the realms of possibility that Denly forces his way back into the reckoning.

The overriding frustration from Denly’s period in the England side was how infrequently he turned promising starts into match-defining scores. A return is unlikely, but if England decide there is no standout candidate to bat three and one of the incumbents plays their way out of form, you never know.

James Vince

Yes, James Vince. One of the most gifted batsmen in the English game, it remains a great shame that England have rarely seen the best of him in international cricket; his run out on 83 at the Gabba is one of English cricket’s great ‘what if’ moments of recent years.

Vince will be 30 by the start of the 2021 season. It would be a waste if England forgot him so soon.

Gary Ballance

Ballance’s batting average of 37.45 from 23 Tests compares rather well to England’s current cohort of top-order options. Should he get back to his best after effectively a year out the game in 2020, England could do a lot worse than reintroduce Ballance to Test cricket. In 2019, only Sibley scored more Division One County Championship runs than Ballance. Like Vince, it would be a shame if we never saw Ballance in Test cricket past the age of 27.

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