India v England: Bob Willis assesses England's selection dilemmas ahead of third Test
Tuesday 22 November 2016 06:19, UK
After falling to a heavy defeat in Visakhapatnam, England have a number of selection dilemmas ahead of the third Test.
They travel to Mohali 1-0 down in the five-match series and while problems persist in the top order, the make-up of the bowling attack is also up for debate.
Live Test Cricket
We asked Bob Willis for his verdict on the main issues. Namely, should England keep faith in Ben Duckett at No 4? Who replaces Stuart Broad if he is not fit to play? And should Zafar Ansari retain his place in the side?
What to do with Ben Duckett?
"I think they need to make a change. Duckett played that one innings, in one-day mode really, in the second Test against Bangladesh but he's really struggling against the off-spinners in India. Rather than given him a run of seven games like Adam Lyth, Alex Hales and Nick Compton, I think he would be better off having a rest from the firing line at the moment.
"Of course, bringing Jos Buttler in would be a little bit of a risk because, in the UAE, he struggled playing defensively against the Pakistan spinners. So he may not be the answer to a maiden's prayer but I think he's obviously going to be a better option than Duckett at this stage. I don't think you can go back to Gary Ballance and the fact that Buttler is right-handed is going to help his case, I would have thought.
"Buttler probably deserves another chance in the side but it is going to be a very tough examination for him. I don't know if there are any obvious names on the Lions tour who could come in and perform a rescue act, but I doubt whether they'd get on any better than Buttler.
"I would bat Bairstow at five, leave Stokes at six and have Buttler at seven. It'd be nice to Bairstow bat at four but he is not going to be able to keep wicket and bat as high in the order as that. Everyone has noticed a huge improvement in his keeping so they're not just going to hand the gloves to Buttler."
How to balance the bowling attack?
"Zafar Ansari looked out of his depth in the Test match just completed. I know there were extenuating circumstances, he wasn't feeling particularly well and he had a bit of a back niggle as well.
"England have to decide whether to reinstate Gareth Batty or go in with the extra seam bowler which I presume would be Jake Ball because Steven Finn didn't look particularly effective in Bangladesh. So there is plenty for England to think about.
"I would doubt whether India would leave any grass on the pitch in Mohali - it has gone through in the past but I think they can make virtually whatever pitch they pike up there in Chandigarh. I'm expecting another turner and it's vitally important that Alastair Cook wins the toss.
"I would expect that England will go with Gareth Batty rather than the extra seamer, I think three spinners did the job for India and now that Adil Rashid is possibly the most reliable spinner England have, they could probably offer the luxury of having Batty back in the side."
Should England risk Stuart Broad?
"From all the mutterings we've heard from Visakhapatnam, it doesn't look as if Broad is going to be able to make Mohali. It's a fortnight to the Mumbai Test match and you should make sure that he is right for that. So it's a straight swap, Chris Woakes for Broad.
"Woakes will obviously strengthen the batting line up and Rashid has made valuable runs as well. So you're only talking about Batty and Anderson down the bottom of the order not contributing much with the bat. That's the way I would go: Batty coming back in for Ansari and Woakes for the injured Broad. Then Buttler for Duckett.
"You could say that England are carrying one too many seam bowlers in the party and one too few batsmen but I suppose that bowlers get injured more often than batsmen and you don't just want people sitting around - they've got enough of that already."
Watch the third Test between India and England at Mohali live on Sky Sports 2 from 3.30am on Saturday.
