England's Top 25 Cricketers After The Champions Trophy

England win the Tests, lose the ODIs, and blow the Champions Trophy. The Root ascent continues, leaving Compton and David Warner in his wake, and James Tredwell is England captain.

On the bubble – Ben Stokes, Steven Davies, Michael Lumb, Danny Briggs, Gary Ballance & Chris Tremlett

25 (16) – Chris Woakes – On the face of it, England are right to stick with a 24 year-old with a FC batting average of 37 and a bowling average of 25. But those in the know say the ankle injury he suffered a winter ago has left him a much slower bowler than the hugely promising prospect he was and could still be, and was putty in the hands of international batsmen.

24 (20) – James Taylor – Unlucky not to play in the Tests against New Zealand, and he has responded in exactly the manner he needed to, with huge runs for Nottinghamshire. Renowned already for mental strength, Taylor will hope to be the next cab off the rank if there is an injury this summer. But if England don’t pick him in this form, when will they?

23 (18) – Alex Hales – After 2012, where Hales showed he was ready to face international bowling in the shortest format, 2013 should be the year to break into the ODI side. He hasn’t, despite the need for a player in his mould, once again because of poor off-field behaviour after it was revealed he broke curfew on the Lads Lions tour of Australia. That’s three black marks in the past twelve months, and it’s holding this highly talented player back.

22 (23) – Jade Dernbach – Dernbach seems to stroke the kind of hatred in England fans that precludes any sensible debate on him as a bowler. Whilst the criticism of him being smashed in the first two ODIs was right, his critics overlooked the fact he was often asked to bowl in the powerplay and subjected to overs at the death which Woakes was lucky to duck. He’s not ready for a full-time ODI role, but he is important to the t20 side and until someone else can do what he can, he will keep on playing.

21 (19) – Luke Wright – Excellent in the first t20, Wright’s global experience continues to show its worth. However, suffered consecutive kicks in the teeth when first Bopara was selected for the Champions Trophy, and then Tredwell was captain over him for the second t20.

20 (22) – James Tredwell – As uninspiring as he looks, every time he pulls on an England shirt he does his job. An interesting choice as captain for the second t20, but it shows how highly England rate his work ethic and he fully justified his selection ahead of Swann in the Champions Trophy. There could be a lot of mileage in playing Swann in Tests and t20s and Tredwell in ODIs as a way of extending Swann’s career.

19 (NE) – Boyd Rankin – In the squad for the Ashes warm-up against Essex, England clearly feel they need some back-up for the height of Broad and Finn. Rankin possesses international experience from his time with Ireland, and may prove to be a smart pick, given the away Ashes tour this winter. England however may face a problem if Chris Tremlett returns to form and fitness.

18 (24) – Graham Onions – After the disaster that was the tour of New Zealand, Onions is back to what he does best, which is baffling county batsmen with his swing. Well up on the wicket charts yet again, and back with the England squad for the Essex match, Onions international career both refuses to blossom or die.

17 (14) – Jos Buttler – One vicious assault aside, Buttler’s international career doesn’t seem to want to get started. Part of this is due to the little time he’s being given to bat, but the selection of Bopara shows England don’t trust him at six in ODIs yet, and Steven Davies is beginning to start banging on the door. However, Buttler’s keeping has been better than advertised, and he’s in England’s strongest t20 side without competition.

16 (NE) – Ravi Bopara – He’s back, and showing why. Clean striking of the ball, decent bowling, and good fielding, Bopara is one of those players capable of altering the game in all three disciplines. The problem is he’s been here before. We’ve seen promise from Bopara several times, but now is the time for actual delivery. Every previous England chance has seen him drift away from the side in poor form, but Flower loves his potential, and he has the physical attributes to do it. He now has to show he has the top six inches.

15 (15) – Monty Panesar – He hasn’t really hit his best form for Sussex, but he should be seen as ahead of Tredwell for the Tests. Will there be a pitch that allows a side to pick two spinners in the Ashes? If so, will England pick him?

14 (11) – Nick Compton – Awful at home to New Zealand, seemingly paralysed by the pressure, and dropped for the Essex match which suggests that Root will get at least the first two Tests. Responded well for Somerset, and will play for Worcestershire against the Australians showing England are still keeping him in the loop.

13 (13) – Tim Bresnan – There and there abouts, elbow fully healed. Bowling was off-colour in the Champions Trophy, but still the most likely selection should one of the three main seamers, although Rankin provides a new element of competition.

12 (12) – Eoin Morgan – I’ve written about Morgan’s struggles previously, and the need for England to give him longer to bat and less pressure to score quickly. He will be very glad to see the return of Pietersen to both the ODI and t20 sides to ease the pressure but the vultures will circle if this poor run continues.

11 (17) – Jonny Bairstow – Bairstow arrested the negative traction he had over the winter with some decent performances in the Test series, and now looks likely to start the first Ashes Test. His long term role is no clearer, but he looks to have the mettle for the longest game and the power for the shorter formats. Buttler does not want his poor form to continue.

10 (9) – Steven Finn – Figures against New Zealand flattered him, and whoever started messing around with his run-up needs to have a look at the career of Jimmy Anderson next time they start altering a young players technique. The England attack now looks fairly settled, and Finn will most likely keep it that way. May not play every Test in the home Ashes but will be crucial in the away series.

9 (7) – Ian Bell – Bell struggled in the Tests, although having had tonsillitis myself; I wouldn’t fancy playing international cricket with it at all. Extremely safe in the Test setup, but Trott’s form in ODIs mean he is now most likely to make way for Pietersen later in the summer.

8 (10) – Joe Root – The astonishing start to his career continues. He’s scored 900 runs in 5 first class games, this summer, including becoming the first Yorkshire player to score his maiden Test century at Headingley, all in Yorkshire’s 150^th anniversary. Blameless in the Warner altercation, a slightly disappointing Champions Trophy followed, but now he’s been promoted to Test opener. Root versus Starc and Pattinson could be a sight to get used to over the next decade.

7 (8) – Stuart Broad – A glorious afternoon at Lords saw Broad take seven and the first Test, and was a reminder of however out of form he looks, Broad is capable of suddenly finding top gear and producing match winning performances beyond most of his teammates. He continues to bowl at inopportune moments for England in white ball cricket, which is testament to his character, and having missed the last Ashes injured, will surely have extra incentive to perform this summer. His batting however continues to flounder.

6 (5) – Graeme Swann – His performance at Headingley, where he took ten wickets in the match, will be an achievement to stand the test of time and highlighted how good a bowler he is. Lost his ODI place during the Champions Trophy, but that could ultimately be of benefit to Swann. One worry, and this goes for Broad too, is not only the poor form with the bat over the past 12 months but the manner of his dismissals, continually swishing outside off-stump. Whilst he is in the side for his bowling, one of Swann’s attributes is that he can bat and England will want more in the Ashes.

5 (6) – Jonathon Trott – It’s not exciting, it’s not very pretty but he just scores runs. The finest number three I’ve seen for England, Trott soaks up pressure and lays the perfect platform for the middle order. The Champions Trophy would have been hugely satisfying for Trott, as he barely registered a failure, and he’s now scored over 1,000 international runs in 20 innings in 2013. England do not want Trott to lose form or fitness during the Ashes.

4 (4) – Alistair Cook – Good hundred at Headingley, and captaincy was better than the away series. ODI form is a little worrying but Cook has so many runs in the bank he could continue without this becoming an issue for some time. The one worrying facet in his game continues to be his struggle against left-armers, with the Australians armed with two of international standard.

3 (1) – Matt Prior – After a mighty fine winter the start to the summer was underwhelming, with no real runs during the Tests and hasn’t really shown a lot of form for Sussex. However, there are no worries over this man for the Ashes other than his replacement should he get injured.

2 (3) – James Anderson – Outstanding with both red and white ball so far this summer, Anderson returned to his very highest standard after a slightly flat series in New Zealand. His ability to swing the ball both ways cut New Zealand’s top order to ribbons at Lords, and it was he, not Broad, who was chief architect behind New Zealand’s collapse. Australia look set to try and try a different opening combination but whoever it is will have their hands full with Anderson.

1 (2) – Kevin Pietersen – They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and whatever your opinions on the man, when England were scoring at two an over during their first Test innings of the summer, you could see England were missing something. Pietersen is indispensible to the team because he is their sole batsman who can destroy sides. Cook, Trott and Bell are fine Test players, and Root will soon join them, but they cannot destroy a side like Pietersen. The rate at which he scores, the manner, the body language, is hugely dispiriting for a fielding side.

The case in point – when England were struggling to knock off 129 in 20 overs to win the Champions Trophy, Pietersen was playing his first innings since the tour of New Zealand for a struggling Surrey against a Yorkshire attack consisting of three internationals and an England Lion. Four hours later Pietersen had 177 off 188 balls, in an innings of artful violence. Australia will respect several of England’s players, but Pietersen is the one they fear.