Originally Posted by
Mibbes Aye
NZ should be slightly more favourable wickets but England will still have to face a very passionate team and in Kane Williamson, one of the top batsmen in the world, who is yet to make a big score this season. Sounds like it is scripted already.
Interesting where England go from here. I remember them in the eighties and nineties, where they dropped several players every game and it simply didn't work. Nevertheless Toby Roland-Jones would appear to be an obvious choice when fit. Craig Overton did just enough to justify a run, when fit.
It's the batting where the most change is needed. I would be wanting and expecting England to go back to Haseeb Hameed, which would justify a transition from Cook to Stoneman, as the senior opener. If Root won't move to three (which is an abdication of responsibility IMO) then we are looking at Malan moving up, quite the promotion.
Bairstow needs to bat higher, at five IMO. If he can't do that and keep wicket then I would bring in Foakes at eight, with the gloves, behind Bairstow, Stokes and Ali. That's a deep tail.
England simply don't have bowling pace and with the nature of the home schedule they don't really need to. I've heard good things about George Garton and Jofra Archer but both are still a way away from the Test side.
That being the case they need to play to their strengths, which at the moment is a very deep batting order. They need to try and sustain that while bleeding in a new attack. Roland-Jones, if fit, can replace either Broad or Anderson. Overton has been keen but it's doubtful whether he has the capability of being one of the two senior seamers. And there's a gap in the spinning department that Mason Crane may or may notfill.
For all the talk about the Australian quicks, their spinner still took 20+ wickets and dominated a predominantly left-sided England batting line-up. Moeen is a batsman who can deliver a bit of spin. They need to find a spinner who justifies selection on his bowling abilities alone.