Utter humiliation all-round for England, making this a
rather more difficult task than previously.
Gone forever – Kevin Pietersen (Court Martial), Graeme Swann
(Deserted)
Probably gone forever – Chris Tremlett (A lot like a vintage
car, still looked good but lacked power), Monty Panesar (Off to the former
England cricketer retirement home, called Essex)
On the bubble – Jamie Overton (Quick, tall, bouncy,
injured), Steven Davies (Needs early runs and catches), Simon Kerrigan (Thanks
to that 5-0 thumping his disastrous debut seems years ago), Tymal Mills (Brings
something different, England aren’t interested in anything different), Stephen
Parry (No, really), Michael Lumb (Underrated in t20 cricket, so underrated in
fact England dropped him), Luke Wright (Conceded more runs in his single over
in the t20 series than he scored runs, but had a great Big Bash), Jade Dernbach
(Until someone steps forward other teams will continue to enjoy the late
innings Dernbach powerplay), Michael Carberry (His multi-format skills may get
him another chance) and James Tredwell (clinging on, a safe pair of hands for
white ball cricket, has to be praying for Giles as coach).
25 (NE) – Scott Borthwick
Ah leg-spin, that most alien of arts to English cricket.
Since, and in part probably because of, Shane Warne, leg-spin to English
cricket seems to bring this mixture of apprehension and excitement, which
probably explains Alistair Cook treating Borthwick with a degree of suspicion
on his debut. His bowling was “raw” (journalist for inaccurate), but looked
like there was talent there, and it helps that he bats a bit, and fields a lot.
If England are going to be consistent, he probably should start the first Test
of the summer, but given that Giles is the favourite for the England job, you
worry that his innate conservatism will lead to a spinner less risky.
24 (RE) – Nick Compton
I’m really struggling to think of anyone who would benefit
more from England appointing an outsider as coach. 24 is a bit of a fudge for
Compton, because if Giles is coach and Gooch remains batting coach, he’s
somewhere in the 40s, but a new head and batting coach, and he’s in the top 15.
The facts on Compton are that he has scored a lot of runs for Somerset over the
last two years, and a lot of those runs have been hard runs. He has two Test
centuries, but rumours of a difficult nature do not help his cause one iota.
23 (RE) – Graham Onions
It might be counter-intuitive, but Onions might actually
fancy seeing the Riverside become a bit of a road this year. The general fear
from the England management is that the Riverside’s bowler friendly surface and
climate is the cause behind Onions astonishing figures over the last two years,
and what happens when he plays on a pitch providing him with nothing. Hard to
not get the feeling that he may end up going the same way as Martin Bicknell,
county stalwart who doesn’t ever get the chance he deserves.
22 (15) – Boyd Rankin
Looked to having about as much fun as dental surgery on his
Test debut, the look of exhausted relief on Rankin’s face when he took his
first Test wicket summed up the level of enjoyment in the England camp. It was
a shame Rankin felt so uncomfortable on the big stage, because his attributes
are obvious to the most casual of cricket fans. Overtaken by Chris Jordan, he’s
not out of the picture, particularly if Steven Finn continues to struggle.
21 (RE) – James Taylor
Forever seemingly stuck in the England Lions side, Taylor
continues to score enough runs to get him close to the Test side without ever
actually getting into it. England like his character, but don’t seem to fancy
his stroke play. Given Stokes emergence it appears that there are only five
batting spots to play for, and he isn’t an opener, chances will be limited, but
he could be a long term solution for England at three.
20 (17) – Ravi Bopara
His batting continues to tease, blasting a sensational
innings in the first t20 when the game was dead, having got out stumped in the
most incredibly lazy manner in the final ODI. His bowling however was
excellent, and that will keep him in the white ball sides for now.
19 (8) – Jonathan Trott
Looked out of sorts in the home series, completely jittery
in the 1st Test, before the reasons why sadly came clear at the end
of the match. Without delving into the complexity of Trott’s particular
problem, you would have to worry about a 32 year old player suffering a
potentially long term injury, although a fit and healthy Trott would walk
straight back into the side.
18 (22) – Alex Hales
Not particularly impressive in Australia, the questions
about his personality do not go away, particularly when the opposition captain
tells you how he’s going to get you out six weeks before the match, then
executes it. More by accident than design, Hales will get his chance in ODI
cricket before the world t20, and he could provide England with a bit more
firepower opening the batting.
17 (13) – Jonny Bairstow
It is a truly damning statement on the England management
that in the two and a half years that Jonny Bairstow has played international
cricket, he has barely improved. Likely to be out of all three sides at the
start of the summer, England would be well advised to give him a summer back at
Yorkshire, so that the talent that was once so obvious can remerge. If it does,
he is a huge part of England’s future.
16 (NE) – Moeen Ali
A fairly intriguing cricket, Ali is the dasher that became
the reliable middle order batsman, the part time bowler that became hugely
effective, and the child who grew into an adult overnight. Ali deserves his
chance in a red England shirt, although he has been hugely fortunate that it
has happened to coincide with a major tournament. Ali is immensely entertaining
to watch bat, and often infuriating, but less so than when he was younger, as
the flashing drives now head more often towards the boundary than the slip
cordon. He could, if his bowling continues to grow, offer England an intriguing
spin option to play in home Tests, with three seamers, Stokes and himself.
15 (18) – Chris Woakes
Didn’t play a single game for England this winter, and that
will be to his eternal benefit. His bowling remains down on pace from his
pre-injury days, but he could become a hugely valuable back-up to Stokes in
Tests, and an alternative when Stokes is rested in white ball cricket. As his
bowling has become less effective, he has improved his batting, and he will
continue to get opportunities as, on paper at least, his game as an all-rounder
is extremely attractive to selectors.
14 (NE) – Sam Robson
When he decided whether he was English or Australian, Robson
was always likely to shoot straight into the reckoning for either Test side.
Superb technique, immensely strong mentally, well linked through playing for
Middlesex, Robson must have been delighted with the appointment of his county
head honcho Angus Fraser as a selector, and if England don’t move Joe Root
again, he has to be the favourite to open 1st Test of the summer.
13 (9) – Tim Bresnan
He looked very, very average in Australia, but then so did
James Anderson, and his England career is nowhere near over. Bresnan is a truly
uninspiring cricketer, but he has an outstanding track record of doing what
he’s told by David Saker, and his continued selection in all three squads means
he is only ever one injury away from getting another chance. Despite whatever
people think, he’s going to keep getting selected, so we better all hope that
elbow starts working properly again.
12 (24) – Gary Ballance
Spent most of the winter dealing with comments about his
weight rather than on his actual ability as a cricketer, so much so that it’s a
wonder he hasn’t developed anorexia. Given a chance in the final Test, didn’t
look out of his depth but didn’t make any runs either, and was a more solid
number three in the ODI series than Stokes. Everyone assumed the number three
spot in reds was being kept warm for Kevin Pietersen, but that’s not an option,
so England would be well advised to keep Ballance at three in ODIs this summer,
and work out from there whether he is good enough for Tests.
11 (NE) – Chris Jordan
I remember seeing a fairly disinterested, fairly
unremarkable young bowler called Chris Jordan playing for Surrey two years ago,
but then again, Sussex have always done a fantastic job with rough diamonds.
During the winter Jordan looked to have pace, accuracy, and most importantly given it had been
questioned before, the heart for the battle. Hopefully the front runner for the
third seamer spot (unless Finn rises from the dead), he gets a chance to
impress in the world t20. There is a slight worry, that despite bowling well
this winter, he didn’t actually take many wickets, but he was definitely a
bright spot.
10 (14) – Steven Finn
Having railed against the injustice that is Steven Finn’s
lack of Test matches several times before, I am going to admit that he got very
lucky this winter. To have been sent home by the England management for being
“unselectable” in any other series would have led to a lot of awkward questions
about his personality and ability. This series, it was seen as simply
symptomatic of Flower and Saker’s coaching. Quite simply, he is the most
talented bowler England possesses, and the sooner he fires, the better for all
concerned.
9 (12) – Jos Buttler
Looked very good in the ODI series, and it was extremely
pleasing to see that he didn’t take a step back from Michael Clarke when Morgan
refused to walk on Dan Christian’s word, given he has a bit of a reputation for
shyness. Given the sudden flux around the Test keeping position, a Test debut
for Buttler is not out of the question, but if he maintained his form in the
white ball cricket this summer, whilst settling in strongly at Lancashire, he
would have done everything that should be expected of him.
8 (7) – Matt Prior
Completely deserted by his batting form since the England
returned home from New Zealand, during the Perth Test, Prior’s wicket-keeping
went as well making his position untenable. Given events since, if he scores
runs in the early county season, he will almost certainly return to the side,
as England love his personality and Cook is going to need a friend. England may
want to relieve him of the vice-captaincy, as he will still be a leader either
way, and give it to the man below.
7 (11) – Eoin Morgan
The most telling shot during Morgan’s century in the 2nd
ODI came in a moment that looked to have shown up a huge weakness. On 1, Morgan
attempted a completely unnecessary slog against Michael Clarke’s left arm spin,
and was easily caught. As the Aussies ran around celebrating, Morgan called Ian
Bell through for a single, and calmly informed the umpire that it was in fact a
no-ball as the Aussies had one too few fielders in the circle. It was as
confident a piece of cricket as any of the shots he produced afterwards, and
showed behind a cool exterior, his cricket mind was functioning.
There are many questions about Morgan, although the IPL has
been answered emphatically. His Test record is unimpressive, his technique
unconventional, his motivation for long form cricket questionable. But he has
an aggressive nature England are crying out for, and in his brief forays so
far, has shown far more natural aptitude for captaincy than any other England
player. Now is not the time for England to be timid with Morgan, he should be
made captain of both white ball sides, not to undercut Cook, but to free him,
and picked in the Test team to play his game, not the bastardised version
Flower and Gooch tried to get him playing. He may fail, but England right now
are better failing trying someone potentially sensational than mildly
succeeding with someone potentially good.
6 (10) – Joe Root
Not very impressive in the Ashes, as his constant movement
in the batting order came home to roost. Root clearly struggles to get his
bodyweight into the right position on balls of a good length, making it
difficult for him to score runs. However, similar to Finn, his failings are not
all his own fault, and English cricket is better for having him. A rest however
may do him a lot of good, and as he is going to Bangladesh, he should be rested
from the white ball cricket against Sri Lanka. He should start for England this
summer, and has a massive future, but England need to give him a chance by
deciding whether he is a two, a three or a five.
5 (3) – James Anderson
Anderson was extremely disappointing in Australia, not only
from a bowling point of view but from a leadership point of view as well. For a
player who is happy to dish out as much sledging as Anderson is, to see him
moaning to the umpires about George Bailey and Michael Clarke was weak,
hypocritical, and the Aussies had him beat from that moment. That said, no-one
in England is better at swinging a cricket ball, and he should be a certain
starter in the summer. However, it’s time to move on from him being leader of
the bowling attack.
4 (4) – Ian Bell
Quietly poor in the Ashes series, Bell recouped some
goodwill by looking very handy in the ODI series. England need to decide
whether to stick him at three again, position of his greatest failings, or
potentially have a new opener and a new number three. As said before, Bell had
a poor series, but he has plenty of cash in the bank from the summer, and his
position is under no threat.
3 (16) – Ben Stokes
The real success story of the winter, the talent was always
been evident, but now the off field attitude has caught up and he is every bit
as good as hoped. His batting remains a stretch at six, because as any Durham
fan will tell you, he plays plenty of good shots, but quite a few bad ones as
well. His bowling is very, very good for a fifth bowler, mixing some neat
outswing with a decent pace. His on field attitude is going to get him in
trouble now and then, but he showed no fear of a rampant Australian side and
never looked anything less than completely committed to the battle. He had
always had a big future ahead of him, hopefully now it will be the present.
2 (6) – Stuart Broad
England’s best bowler in Australia by a country mile, and in
the face of near constant abuse from the Aussie crowd as well. Broad bowled
superbly given his lack of support, particularly from the spinners, the lack of
rest between innings, and the foot injury he suffered during the series. Now is
probably a good time for England to start giving Broad the first over of the
innings, and really backing him as the attack leader. The problem for Broad is
given his importance, England have a lot of important cricket coming up, so
finding time for a rest is not going to be easy.
1 (5) – Alistair Cook
Given that Cook’s just captained a side that lost a series
emphatically 5-0, then the ODI series 4-1, you might think that his position as
captain would have been severely weakened, particularly after he struggled with
the bat. However, Cook has been backed by all at the ECB since, and in stunning
fashion, given how Kevin Pietersen has been retired. The rights and wrongs of
this move can be debated from now to the summer, and quite probably will be,
but the sole facts is that after one of the worst winters in the history of
English cricket, the captain from this winter has been given more power, not
less.
Cook is now not just the England captain, but his place
enshrined by Paul Downton. The coach will have to have him as captain. The
direction of English cricket for the short term is inexorably tied to Cook’s
performance as captain. To a good captain, this would be a huge leap of faith –
to an at best unproven one, it may prove a step too far.
