England v South Africa: Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan in contention for first Test
Crane and Roland-Jones also in the mix as Bayliss ponders options; Squad announcement to be made at 9am on Saturday
Saturday 1 July 2017 07:49, UK
Surrey's Mark Stoneman and Middlesex's Dawid Malan are in contention to make their England Test debuts in next week's first Test against South Africa.
Stoneman is in the frame to open at Lord's alongside in-form Alastair Cook after racking up 657 runs in his first 11 innings for the Oval outfit following his move from Durham.
Meanwhile, Malan is under consideration for a place in the squad - which will be announced at 9am on Saturday - after hitting an impressive 78 on his international bow, a series-clinching Twenty20 win over the Proteas in Cardiff.
The pair are in the mix alongside fellow uncapped players Mason Crane, of Hampshire, and Middlesex's Toby Roland-Jones - with Jones the favourite to be named as back-up seamer on his home ground.
Durham skipper Keaton Jennings, who replaced Haseeb Hameed in Mumbai and Chennai after the Lancashire batsman suffered a broken hand, could bat at three behind Stoneman but Gary Ballance has boosted his hopes of a third spell in Test cricket by scoring 815 championship runs for Yorkshire.
Hameed's hopes of adding to his three Test caps appear to be on hold after an early season run of poor form that has yet to yield a first-class fifty.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss admitted that England have a number of selection issues to resolve.
"In the two years I've been here it will be the toughest selection meeting that I've had," he said. "It's a good problem to have when you're struggling to know which guys to put in.
"Someone like Mark Stoneman has been doing well at the level below. Does Joe Root go back to three and we put an extra middle order player in?
"Where does Jonny Bairstow bat? This is all up for discussion and we'll come up with an answer."
Stuart Broad is struggling with a bruised left heel but England hope he will be able to play for Nottinghamshire against Surrey in the One-Day Cup final at Lord's on Saturday as a way of proving his fitness for the first of a four-Test series.
James Anderson is available after a groin problem, but Jake Ball (knee) and Chris Woakes (side strain) are out of contention, clearing the way for Durham's Mark Wood.
Aside from Ball, at least two of the players who took the field in England's last Test in Chennai, Cook's final match as captain, will be absent.
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Jos Buttler played that game at number seven but has managed just one first-class game this season, scoring only three runs in two knocks in this week's day/night round, and looks increasingly likely to fall off the red-ball radar while remaining a cornerstone of the limited-overs set-up.
Liam Dawson made his debut as an extra spinner but could miss out in the squad to Crane, who impressed in England's T20 series against South Africa.
Possible England squad: Root (c), Stokes (v-c), Cook, Stoneman, Jennings, Ballance, Malan, Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Crane, Broad, Anderson, Roland-Jones, Wood
Watch the first Test between England and South Africa live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am on Thursday.
