A handy indicator of a team’s strength can often be found on its bench and this should be a source of comfort for England come Wednesday’s first Test against West Indies when considering some of the names who may miss out.
Over the course of the tourists’ four days of warm-up cricket against the Board President’s XI there have been clues as to which way Joe Root and Trevor Bayliss (as well as the recently arrived Ed Smith) are leaning and it could well see two key players from the victory in Sri Lanka – Jack Leach and Adil Rashid – mixing the drinks.
Jonny Bairstow’s new role at No 3, one which he is dutifully (and thus far successfully) trying to crack despite a yearning to reclaim the gloves, points to an extended batting line-up. And while the pitch produced by the Kensington Oval’s head groundsman, Henderson Davis, is yet to be seen, the venue’s recent leaning towards seam suggests Moeen Ali may be the solitary spinner among five bowlers.
In this scenario Root, who drew a 10-strong crowd of would-be Marcelo Bielsas from the travelling support as he grooved his brand of darters in the Malcolm Marshall nets on Friday , may well provide the support for a spinner who tends to prefer not being the only specialist headliner on the bill.
Of the seamers Jimmy Anderson is a given while Stuart Broad followed up his second-day hat-trick with two early new-ball incisions on Friday and is feeling good about his shortened run-up. Ben Stokes is clearly locked in, while Sam Curran, enjoying good swing from the locally used Dukes ball, has seven wins from seven in his infant Test career.
In this set-up it is Chris Woakes who comes closest. The all-rounder has quietly but effectively gone about his all-round business, batting for three hours across two innings for 82 runs (once out) while with the ball he got the lateral movement his fast-medium requires despite being the fifth man used. He claimed five wickets across the two bowling days including Sunil Ambris lbw for 94 among three on Friday, when the hosts made 233 for 11.
Granted the opposition has been callow – or at least played callow cricket, given six Test-capped players on show – and Woakes has a disparity between personal home and away records to date but only two Tests ago he was celebrating a maiden century at Lord’s. Curran is not just a lucky charm, however, and in his first cricket since a side-strain let Bairstow back in he has taken three new ball wickets and enjoyed a sprightly 47 with willow in hand.
Both Leach and Rashid looking on may prompt some chuntering from the outside. But beyond what this does to Moeen, who in 24 warm-up overs took three for 61 and will at least have three left-handers in the West Indies top five to go at, it will not hugely concern the England management. They are looking to de-stigmatise omissions by breaking down the notion of a first-choice XI, particularly on the road.
As well as a lack of egos, this stems from an unusual glut of all-rounders at present and they are thus asking players to trust in the squad’s primacy, knowing the wheel will eventually turn in their favour when conditions suit. This may come to pass at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, scene of the second Test, where spinners have taken just over a third of the wickets in the past three years, compared with one in five in Barbados.
Along with two days of slick fielding in which any rustiness from the two-month international break was not evident, batting-wise, three of England’s top four have spent good time in the middle. Keaton Jennings has been fleeting at the crease before a series in which his proficiency against the seamers will again be tested while Jos Buttler has only one recent innings against the red ball, scoring four. As in his breakout summer last year the vice-captain comes in off the back of short-form runs at least.
Joe Denly sits in reserve but, were a batsman to go down injured, one fancies another all-rounder – Woakes or Rashid – and a reshuffle would be the first port of call. It is, after all, where England’s strength lies at present.
