For the management at least, the rest between Tests has been interrupted. A one-day squad for the three ODIs and three T20s against India in January will be announced on Monday. So there have been some conference calls in between the R&R.
As ever, there are a jumble of priorities; the importance of white-ball cricket has been properly emphasised by this regime, yet there remains the issue of when to rest England’s key, three-format players. So selection remains a precarious balancing act. In the new year there is a bit of respite from international cricket after the return to India, with just a brief trip to the Caribbean for three ODIs in early March, which might be quite an attractive proposition for the players. Next summer there is the Champions Trophy in England, a trophy that has been targeted by everyone from Andrew Strauss downwards.
For the games in India there will be a return to the squad for the captain Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales, both of whom opted out of the ODIs in Bangladesh. If Morgan were an old-style journalist he would operate for a Sunday paper, so neatly has his workload as an international cricketer evolved. He seems to play so infrequently that there is an additional pressure on him to succeed when he does. However he has overseen a major improvement in England’s ODI cricket. So he remains in credit and like Hales, he should at least be fresh.
Therefore a minimum of two players from the ODI squad will have to give way. One to miss out is James Vince, who throughout his brief England career has flickered but never caught fire. Another to stay at home might be Moeen Ali for different reasons.
Moeen, like Ben Stokes, Joe Root and, increasingly, Chris Woakes, generally plays in the best side whatever the format. Unlike Root, Moeen played in the ODIs in Bangladesh; in the past few weeks in India there have been signs that the spark has diminished. The most amenable of cricketers – he must always be asking “what number would you like me to bat today, skip?” – Moeen might benefit from a break. Since Root was absent at the start of this expedition he should come back to India in the new year, though he will become a father for the first time in or around the first week of January.
So a bit more juggling is required. Root’s return means the selectors would have to choose two from Sam Billings, Ben Duckett and Jonny Bairstow (all of whom could provide cover for Jos Buttler behind the stumps). This is a tricky choice, especially since there is an eagerness to begin Duckett’s rehabilitation process as soon as possible after his torment in the Tests against the off-spinners. It may be that they decide Bairstow, not necessarily an ODI regular in recent times, might usefully recharge after his record-breaking year in Test cricket with the bat and the gloves. If not, Duckett misses out.
There is inevitably concern about Stokes’ workload – even though he always gives the impression that he wants to play.
And, of course, England want to win, which is more likely when their charismatic all-rounder is in the side. So Stokes – and perhaps Woakes – might be required for the 50-over games only but then given a break for the ensuing T20 matches. Moreover, it is highly likely that England will want to continue the experiment of having Tymal Mills, who bowls fast, as a T20 specialist. Expect a list of names that contains a few asterisks.
Possible squad Morgan, Hales, Roy, Duckett, Root, Buttler, Billings, Stokes (50-over matches only), Dawson, Woakes (50-over matches only), Willey, Rashid, Plunkett, Finn, Ball, Mills (T20s only)
