Wednesday 29 April 2015 20:55, UK
Assistant coach Paul Farbrace has hinted that England will name an unchanged team for the third Test against West Indies, which starts in Barbados on Friday.
Head coach Peter Moores has already suggested Jonathan Trott is set to continue opening the batting alongside Alastair Cook despite his indifferent form, and Farbrace expects the bowling attack to remain the same.
There have been calls for Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid to be given a chance but it appears likely that Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan will get the nod in the same four-man pace line-up with James Anderson and Stuart Broad after England's win in Grenada put them 1-0 up in the three-match series.
"Historically there has not been a lot of spin here but there has been a bit of bounce," said Farbrace.
"Jordan and Stokes are two people we want to keep developing. Yes, they might be quite similar but there was good progression by playing them.
"The great thing with Stokes is that for five days he gives you absolutely everything. The more he plays the better he'll be, there's no doubt about that. And Jordan seems to be progressing all the time.
"If you were thinking of spin they're the most likely (to make way) but at the same time you want to keep progressing them, keep pushing them forward and we've all seeing the progress that the two of them are making."
Farbrace also gave his backing to under-pressure Trott, adding: “I thought the last game he was really getting some fluency and playing nicely and if he plays here I would fully expect him to get a good score.
“He’s been fantastic and I know that everybody on the batting side has enjoyed having him back in the group, so full credit to him.
“Trott and Cook are the pair that’s been picked for the first two games and we have seen progression, so we see good signs going forward.”
Australia all-rounder Steve Smith has opened the war of words ahead of this summer’s Ashes by claiming England will "not come close" to a full-strength Australia this summer, but Farbrace refused to take the bait.
"There will be a lot of that," he said. "Glenn McGrath will be coming out with his usual 5-0 prediction, everybody else will be having their say and that's fine.
"Everyone's looking forward to the summer but we think we're making progress as a Test team and are quite settled.
"There are some exciting times ahead but the game this week is a big one for us. We can't worry about what's going on away from this team."
Farbrace also had some sympathy for county champions Yorkshire who have seen four of their six players on the England tour fail to make an appearance so far, with Adam Lyth, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Plunkett missing out along with Rashid.
"It has been frustrating for them. They have lost a couple of their overseas players already and they see players sitting over here not playing," he said.
"Obviously they want to build on what they achieved last year, which was winning the Championship, so it's a tough one but it is also great that they produce a lot of players for England."
Watch the third Test between West Indies and England live on Sky Sports 2 from 2.30pm on Friday.
