England's Test XI: What will it look like? Ollie Pope to bat at No 3 - but will Matty Potts make the XI?
England take on New Zealand in three Tests, starting at Lord's on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event; Ollie Pope to bat at No 3; Durham seamer Matthew Potts hoping to debut but Yorkshire batter Harry Brook may have to wait for his Test bow despite superb county form
Monday 30 May 2022 12:44, UK
England's XI is coming together for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand with many places already looking secured, especially on the batting front.
Zak Crawley and Alex Lees have been retained as openers, Ollie Pope returns to the side and is handed a promotion to No 3, while Joe Root is back at his preferred spot of No 4.
Jonny Bairstow, meanwhile, is up to No 5 following new captain, and influential all-rounder, Ben Stokes' decision to drop himself down a position to No 6. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes should complete the top seven.
Things are a little less certain on the bowling front, although James Anderson and Stuart Broad will, in all likelihood, start having been recalled to the squad after being left out of the defeat in the West Indies - the final series before Stokes became skipper and Brendon McCullum coach.
Can Crawley find consistency?
Those closely-affiliated to Kent Cricket have always believed they possessed a future England batsman in Crawley, and Rob Key still believes he does. But the future must be now.
While the talent is undisputed, questions of Crawley continue to surround his consistency on the Test stage and whether his style can fit the bill as a long-term solution to England's top-order woes.
"Crawley has been selected on potential," said former England captain Nasser Hussain. "It's been a bit feast or famine for him.
"He got 100 in the first Test in the Caribbean and four single-figure scores. He got 70-odd in Sydney [in The Ashes] and not a lot else. He got that 250 [versus Pakistan in 2020] and not a lot else.
"The reason for that is he's got a slight technical issue with his bat coming across the line of the ball and as an opener, he plays a big booming drive very early on. He has been found wanting with the technical failing he's got.
"I hope he's had a look at his game. With the Dukes ball in England against that New Zealand attack, however much you want to play positive and attacking cricket, you've also got to play the situation as an opener.
"You want your opener to be a little bit more consistent, so I see why they've stuck with Crawley but you can only live off potential for so long.
"With all the changes in captains and coaches and directors of cricket, the biggest change I want is Joe Root coming in at 120-2, not 20-2."
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Is Pope at No 3 a risk?
There had been talk of Crawley possibly moving down to No 3 in the order, to make way for another opener, but instead Pope has the chance to make the spot his own - despite never having previously batted there.
England managing director of men's cricket, Rob Key, said of Pope's ascension: "I think he has the technique and temperament.
"It's down to us to get the best out of him, give him the backing to go and do it so we can now finally see the potential we all think he has.
"If you ask who is the best No 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, you'd probably put Root down as all of those. Then after that, we feel that Pope is the man.
"With a lot of those guys now, the bet is that with the talent they have, with this environment - McCullum and Stokes - we get the best out of one of our most talented cricketers. Pope is one of those.
"If we can unlock him, which I think we can, there's a seriously good Test cricketer there, whether that's at 3, 4 or 5, he could be a very, very good Test match batsman."
In contrast to his heavy scoring in county cricket, Pope has averaged just 28.66 in 23 Test matches for England, managing a top score of 35 in The Ashes over the winter and reaching 50 only once in his last 12 Test outings.
Hussain said: "[Former England coach] Duncan Fletcher used to say to me in selection meetings, 'it's like an investment, when you pick somebody, it's an investment for the future'.
"Anyone that would have seen Pope bat at Surrey over the last two or three years will know what a talent he is. The problem is he's not been able to transfer that onto the international stage of late, he's looked a bit frenetic, a bit chaotic at the crease."
Will Brook have to bide his time?
It certainly looks that way with the in-form Yorkshire player - he is averaging 140 in the Championship so far this season - set to be the batter to miss out with Key confirming that Bairstow "will come in at No 5."
Hussain said: "I know he's getting runs and he does it in a very attacking manner. I sat and watched a stream of Yorkshire playing Essex recently and he just took their bowlers down. He is a very attacking player.
"He's looked at his fitness, he's looked at his trigger movements and he's really worked hard. He was a prolific white-ball player last year and this year in red-ball cricket he's been outstanding.
"Bairstow has two hundreds in his last four Test matches so unless there is an injury or England see something in the nets in the week and say, 'this lad is in great nick, he's going to play', I don't think he can get in."
However, Hussain's fellow Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton says he would select Brook ahead of Bairstow, with the 23-year-old in such supreme form.
"I'd have to pick him, just because of the form he is in. When you pick a young player is so important and he will never be in better form than this, never be more confident than this.
"Bairstow was the success story of the winter. He has been away in the IPL but in the Test stuff before that he had two hundreds, one in the West Indies and another at the end of the Ashes.
"It's not absolutely straightforward and the slight conundrum has been created by the fact Stokes has said Root will go back to No 4 and they want Pope to have a dash at No 3. That means there are very few places left in the middle order.
"I don't think England will slip Brook in but the temptation must be there to play a young man who is in that kind of form."
Debut for Potts at Lord's?
There could also be a debut or Potts in the first Test.
If Anderson and Broad take two of the bowling spots, as expected, then Durham paceman Potts appears to be vying with fellow seamer Craig Overton and spinner Jack Leach for the final two berths.
A combination of his own form and injuries to others - such as Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson and Saqib Mahmood - has presented Potts with a place in the squad.
Key said of Potts: "Stokes has seen him close at hand. The scouts have seen a lot of him, seen his development. He's been involved in the pathway, so his character is understood.
"That's the one thing that really stood out - character. It looks like you're in a proper contest when you're facing him - I get really excited about that. Out of the injury problems we've got, some good will come out of it and it may be him."
Potts is the leading County Championship wicket-taker so far this season, with 35 scalps at an average of 18.57 across his opening six games for Durham.
Hussain added: "He's aggressive, he keeps his speeds up. He's a real talent, this young man. He's got four five-fors, he's got 7-40, and he's done all of that with Stokes stood at mid-off chatting with him.
"Sometimes it can be a disadvantage having the England captain there, he sees the good and the bad of you, but there's not been too much bad from Potts."
Watch the first Test between England and New Zealand, at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday.
