The Ashes XI
If we were in charge (which we should be)....
It is now little more than a month until The Ashes begins at Edgbaston. Though the selectors seem reluctant to pay much attention to our views, it is time to select our XI. I have operated below as if everyone were fit to start, which is probably a heroic assumption. A Henderson XI will follow in due course, when he has consulted his panel of selectors.
1. Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow has insisted on taking the gloves for Yorkshire in his first game back after a broken leg which is perhaps an augury of what the selectors are planning. I have bored on before in other places ( The Cricketer October 2020) about why Zac Crawley should no more open the batting for England than I should, so I shall spare readers any more of that. Suffice to say that he shouldn’t and someone else has to. I would be inclined to do what India once did with Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma and convert a top-class middle order batsman. Bairstow is my candidate.
2. Ben Duckett
It is worth remembering that Duckett was actually batting at three for Notts when he was chosen to open the batting for England. He has done well since his return and he has started the season with runs. Opening in England in mid-June against Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood will be tough but he deserves the spot.
3. Ollie Pope
England should play all their games at The Oval where Pope averages over 90. The most talented English batsman of his time, it is time for Pope to translate his potential into achievement. It might help if Joe Root would bat at 3, as he ought to have been told to do for years.
4. Joe Root
Obviously. The best English batsman of my lifetime.
5. Harry Brook
He can’t defy gravity for long but Brook’s entry into Test cricket has been so extraordinary that he has earned the right to stay in the side. Those in the know suggest Brook just might be a superstar. It will be fun finding out.
6. Ben Stokes
A remarkable man. If I had my way he would be crowned King Benjamin The First on Saturday.
7. Ben Foakes
It would be a travesty if Foakes were dropped to accommodate Bairstow which is, in fact, dropping Foakes to continue the Crawley experiment. He is, by common consent, the best wicket-keeper in the country (probably the world) and he has averaged 40 for England under McCullum and Stokes. Should have been in the side years ago.
8. Ollie Robinson
Apart from the estimable Jimmy Anderson, Robinson should now be England’s first choice. If he can stay fit he can take a lot of wickets for England.
9. Jofra Archer
A punt on fitness, of course, but in this selection game everyone is fit. The attack feels more potent with one bowler who can crank it up and Archer is the best of that bunch. It would be less of a risk if Stokes were fit to do his overs as a bowler, another happy but unlikely circumstance I am assuming here.
10. Jack Leach
The Leach-Stokes bromance is a touching story and I would start with Leach though I am never averse to playing another seamer, especially early in the series. Chris Woakes would strengthen the side if conditions are appropriate.
11. Jimmy Anderson
Astonishing that he is still here and still first choice but there you are. If you delete the first few years of his Test career, an all-time great.
So, that’s my line-up for Edgbaston. The other players I would expect to play a part in the series would be, if batting reinforcements were required, Josh Bohannon and Leus Du Plooy. Among a bowling stock which will probably be rotated, I would include Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, Olly Stone and Rehman Ahmed.
Philip Collins