Who do you think England should pick for third Test?
Friday 21 July 2017 08:26, UK
England's 340-run defeat to South Africa in the second Test at Trent Bridge levelled the four-match series at 1-1 - but will the hosts make a raft of changes as they look to bounce back at The Oval?
There will be one forced alteration with Gary Ballance - whose place appeared in jeopardy anyway following scores of 20, 34, 27 and four since his recall - sustaining a fractured finger.
However, with Keaton Jennings struggling for runs, spinning all-rounder Liam Dawson making a modest impact in his first two Tests, and paceman Mark Wood going wicketless in Nottingham, a host of county campaigners will be hoping for a call-up later this week.
Here are the questions England must answer…
Who opens the batting?
Well, Alastair Cook, obviously, unless something incredibly peculiar happens over the coming days, but the identity of his partner is not set in stone. Durham star Jennings has been given a vote of confidence, of sorts, by England coach Trevor Bayliss, despite pocketing just 44 runs in his four Test innings this summer and just three of them at Trent Bridge last week.
"If we're consistent with our selections, he should get some more goes," said Bayliss. Sky Cricket expert Sir Ian Botham would also keep faith with the 25-year-old, who scored a century on Test debut against India over the winter. "It would be hard to leave Jennings out as he has played four Tests and has one hundred and a fifty," said Beefy. That's not that bad."
One option, though, would be to slot Jennings down a spot and hand a debut to Surrey opener Mark Stoneman on his home track, the 30-year-old averaging 58.53 in the County Championship since his winter switch from Durham, hitting three hundreds and one fifty with a best of 197.
Stoneman did not seem fazed by the cameras as he stroked an unbeaten 144 for Surrey in the One-Day Cup final, live on Sky Sports, on the day he was overlooked for the first Test against South Africa, but his inclusion alongside Cook and Jennings would not solve the issue - if it indeed is one - of England having three left-handers at the top of the order.
Joe Root at three, up from four, would and Sky Cricket expert Bob Willis wants that move be made: "I've said it often, if you're 0-1, in he comes, he's got the technique to fend off that new ball and save the innings. If he comes in at 190-1 then he's got the skills to press on and make a massive first-innings score or, indeed, a second-innings score in a run chase."
Which other batsmen are in the reckoning?
Haseeb Hameed looked - and no doubt will become - a long-term Test cricketer in India, including when he scored 59 not out in Mohali with a broken finger. Yet, having been snubbed two and a half weeks ago due to averaging 19.45 and compiling a top score of 47 this season, it would a surprise if the right-hander was recalled for The Oval, even though he did hit 110 for Lancashire's second XI this week against MCC Young Cricketers.
As far as other openers go, Middlesex right-hander Sam Robson - who scored one hundred and one half-century in 11 Test innings in 2014, against Sri Lanka and India - and Surrey left-hander Rory Burns - a gritty, gnarly batsman in the mould of South Africa's Dean Elgar - would also appear to be outsiders, despite averaging around 60 in the Championship.
More likely candidates seem to be middle-order men Tom Westley (Essex) and Dawid Malan (Middlesex) - Westley has been a regular run-getter in Division Two for years and has continued that form in the top flight, while he hit a South Africa attack containing Messrs Morkel, Morris, Maharaj and Rabada for 106 while batting at No 3 for England Lions, at Worcester.
Malan's first-class season has been more sedate but he displayed character in abundance on his England T20I debut against South Africa last month, mixing muscle and invention to score 78 from 44 balls, including 12 fours and two sixes, and help tee up a series win. Bayliss seems a big fan.
Stick with two spinners?
Yet, Bayliss also appears to be in favour of maintaining England's current balance of seven batsmen, with Moeen Ali as batter and "second" spinner. "It's almost a waste having eight batters in the team," he said recently. "We played that way against Australia and were successful but, in a way, that's papering over the cracks a little. It's saying we're not confident with our batting line-up. The simple fact is we've got to do better with the bat."
If that remains the case, then Dawson, who has picked up the wicket of Hashim Amla twice in the series, could earn a reprieve, but Botham and Bumble have suggested leg-spin options, with Beefy pushing for England to recall Adil Rashid after the Yorkshireman took 30 wickets in Bangladesh and India. "You have invested three years in him, he gets wickets in the winter and doesn't start in England. Maybe you need to bring him back into the side - you would hope he will be hungry."
Bumble, meanwhile, has earmarked Dawson's Hampshire team-mate Mason Crane, who impressed with his skill, temperament and enthusiasm against South Africa in the recent T20Is, bagging the wicket of AB de Villiers having just been clubbed for a four and two sixes by the one-day master.
Who's the final pace ace?
Wood has been passed fit for The Oval after undergoing a scan on his left heel but England do have options if they decide to omit the Durham dynamo on form grounds, even with Chris Woakes nursing the side strain that has sidelined him since England's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh.
Middlesex seamer Toby Roland-Jones has been included in the squad for the first two Tests without getting a gig, while Jake Ball is on the comeback trail from a knee injury, and in line to play his first match in almost a month when Nottinghamshire host Derbyshire in the T20 Blast on Friday night.
Looking slightly more left-field, and one of the form quicks in recent weeks has been Somerset's Craig Overton. The 23-year-old claimed nine wickets in the match as the Taunton team defeated Yorkshire to claim their first Championship win of the campaign, and then took three scalps in a Twenty20 clash with Middlesex on Sunday.
England have eyes on him - he was an unused member of their T20 squad against the Proteas - but the Oval may come too soon, as it surely will also for two of the other fast bowlers to have impressed this term, Essex's Jamie Porter and Yorkshire's Ben Coad. One Yorkshire quick would be in Bumble's team, though, with our pundit pushing for Liam Plunkett to play.
Who would be in your England XI for the third Test, which you can watch live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am, Thursday, July 27? Let us know on Twitter @SkyCricket
