Wednesday 27 September 2017 18:35, UK
England have named their squad to try and retain the Ashes in Australia, with James Vince handed a surprise recall and three uncapped players in the 16-man touring party.
Former England captains Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Sir Ian Botham know what an Ashes tour entails and the challenges facing Joe Root and his side down under, but what do they make of the group going out this winter?
The Sky Sports pundits assess the squad as a whole with the selections of James Vince, Gary Ballance and Mason Crane coming under particular scrutiny…
It is a curious squad in the sense that you've probably got seven or eight world class or high Test players there and another eight of which there are many questions marks about and for whom you could easily have had alternative players. The core of the team looks very strong and you've basically got nine men for Brisbane there that you know are rock solid Test cricketers, then there are a few question marks about the rest.
You'd say one or two are very fortunate to be there, which is not the same thing as saying it is wrong for them to be there, but James Vince since being left out last year - when his top score was 42 in seven Test matches - has scored 500 runs at 34. Mason Crane has got 16 wickets at 44.
So you'd say there are players who are fortunate to be there. Really, Vince and others are there because of circumstance and because other players have not nailed down a place.
I have some sympathy for the selectors, it's been quite difficult with comings and goings. The one thing I think has happened is Trevor Bayliss, who for a couple of years has taken a back seat in selection because he didn't know English cricketers and English cricket too well, has seen all these guys now and he has said 'of all these guys I've seen, I like Vince.'
The thing about Crane is that Moeen Ali is the No 1 spinner but he could be ill on the first morning at Brisbane, he could get a stomach upset, he could fall down the stairs or break his finger in the nets. Who then do you want as your back-up spinner to back to seamers up at Brisbane? Do you want Mason Crane? I'm not sure I would as captain.
You could easily have him in the Lions and then bring him if you want a second spinner at Sydney and it looks like a ragging pitch. But, at the start of the tour, I'm not sure that is what I'd have gone with.
They've pencilled in Vince to bat at three. They've said it is between Ballance and Dawid Malan at five and Joe Root will bat at four. Then you've got Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali at six, seven, eight so it is a big ball on Vince, let's hope they're right.
It would be a huge blow if Stokes can't go. The reason why I think England might have an advantage in Australia is that England can balance their line-up with five bowlers because of Ben Stokes.
Ideally, a month or so before you fly out for the Ashes you'd want 13 out of 16 to be absolutely solid cricketers who you can give a tick and say 'they are my go to people.' You'd have three or four maybe who you're not so sure about. That squad is more 50-50.
At the moment, you've got a batting line-up where they are going round in circles, they are going back to lads time after time after time. I will question something like the selection of James Vince. I think he is a very good player, I think he could get runs in Australia but either they were wrong in leaving him out last time, if they think he is a good player, or they are wrong now to bring him back.
Why do they keep going round in circles? Gary Ballance, three or four times he comes back into the side. They are going round in circles! I don't think they are giving people enough time to stay in the side and prove you either right or wrong.
Then your back-up bowlers who are carrying injuries, Toby Roland-Jones and Mark Wood, aren't there. Is there enough fire-power in the bowling attack? Also, Mason Crane as your second spinner - there are a lot of question marks there.
You know the one thing that keeps me confident about this side? The Aussie side. If you took that side to Australia in the 80s and 90s, I'd be very concerned but if you take them down under now with the Aussies batting line-up, their wicketkeeper and the injuries to their bowling line-up, England have got a chance.
I wouldn't want Ballance at three. At one down in Australia with the hard Kookaburra ball on those hard, bouncy pitches, I would not want him coming in at No 3. I don't think he has changed his technique in the three or four times he's been in, he's been pretty stubborn, gone back to county cricket and said 'that's the way I play.' It suits county cricket but not international cricket so I don't think that is an option for them.
It is a bit harsh on the lads who played this summer as well. Keaton Jennings and Tom Westley played on nibbly pitches that did quite a bit, against good bowling attacks - South Africa, in particular.
Batting at the top of the order, they have a difficult summer and then it is always someone out of the side who we tried last year or the year before is a better player, get them in. That is what I mean about going round in circles.
I give you Shai Hope. Going to Headingley, he was averaging 19 and no one was talking about him but because the West Indies can't go round in circles, because they don't have the abundance of cricketers we have, they stuck with, he gets two hundreds in the game and everyone is talking about him.
There are two that stand out to me: Crane and Ballance. Should something happen to Moeen Ali on the morning of a game is Mason Crane the man to go in as your No 1 spinner in that Test match? I don't think so.
And Gary Ballance, it was a surprise when he got recalled at the start of the summer and I should think he is amazed to be called up now. What has Jack Leach got to do to get into this side? He is well ahead of every other spinner in the figures over the last couple of years.
I would be pulling my hair out if I was him - 'what else can I do? How do I get into the side?' Surely to goodness he has done enough to be the second spinner?
