Sky Cricket pundits pick out their ones to watch for the summer
Thursday 27 April 2017 15:40, UK
Promising legspinner Mason Crane "needs to play" and might have to move county, says Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain.
Crane has yet to feature in Hampshire's opening three County Championship fixtures and Hussain - who picked the 20-year-old spinner as 'one to watch' for the summer - feels the ECB might have to step in to ensure his development isn't stunted.
Sky's biggest ever summer of live cricket kicked off on Thursday with the Royal London One-Day Cup game between Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, where Hussain, Michael Atherton, David Lloyd, Rob Key and Marcus Trescothick each picked out a player pushing for England recognition.
Nasser Hussain: "My one to watch, no-one is watching at the moment, sadly. Hampshire haven't been picking him - they've been playing Liam Dawson as their frontline spinner.
"It opens that whole debate on spin in England. Should Crane be playing cricket somewhere at this stage in his career? I think he should.
"The only way around it really would be for the ECB to maybe sign up Crane on a contract, and then loan him somewhere like Surrey - who have just had Zafar Ansari retire - but not to carry the drinks.
"He gets drift, spins it, gets turn and bounce. Aged only 20, he got into the New South Wales side in Australia. He is the first overseas player picked for them in 30 years.
"He got five wickets in the match against South Australia that he played, plus he had a spell of four wickets for one run for the South against the North in that series in the UAE last month.
"England have been looking for a legspinner for a number of years. If Crane is to be the one, he needs to be playing."
Michael Atherton: "A Lancashire player who really took our eye last year with some tremendously hard hitting in one-day cricket, but he is also a very versatile player.
"Livingstone looks very natural at the crease to me - not over coached - and I like that in a player, someone who takes responsibility for their own game.
"He has an average of over 50 in first-class cricket - five hundreds in 22 games - and had a terrific winter away with England Lions.
"He has carried on that good form already this season - a great outing in the win over Somerset last week, hitting a hundred and a half-century.
"He is banging down the door and must be there or thereabouts, particularly for one-day selection."
David Lloyd: "I think he is a consistent performer. He's fit, strong, has a good action and is deadly accurate. There is every chance he can make it into England's Test team.
"Middlesex are reigning county champions, and Roland-Jones was a mainstay of their side last year - 54 Championship wickets for him, including that hat-trick to win it.
"He looks to be a quicker version of Angus Fraser, who is Middlesex director of cricket of course.
"And, here's an absolute gem for you - if he does play for England, he'd be the first with a double-barrel name since Mandy Mitchell-Innes in 1935.
Rob Key: "I have gone for one of my mates. For a long time, I have shied away from talking about him because he is a Kent lad and I want everyone else to do the talking.
"There was no better player as a young kid coming through, then he had a tough time of it, but over the last two or three years he has just been outstanding.
"If England are looking for a No 5 for Test cricket, he could be it. He is just a pure run-scorer - a fine player who has come of age.
"He plays in the Second Division, so if he does play for England he'll be a poster boy almost for second division cricketers.
"That will put pressure on him to not only do well for himself but also show that the standard of cricket is good enough at that level."
Marcus Trescothick: "I'm championing a fellow left-hander at the top of the order in Gubbins.
"He's a fantastic player. What impresses me most is his all-round game. He is strong on the front foot, but more than anything else, his short ball game is impeccable.
"If you want to make that step up to the next level, you've got to be good on the back foot.
"I really like the way he plays. One to look out for."
