Back to Bell or Ballance? Is it Vince's time to shine?
Wednesday 11 May 2016 20:15, UK
With James Taylor forced to retire due to a heart condition and Nick Compton solid rather than spectacular in South Africa this winter, spots are up for grabs in England's middle order.
So just where might the selectors be looking ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am on Thursday, May 19?
Whether the decision-makers want wise old heads or fresh faces, there are a fair few options…
Ian Bell
When left out of England's tour of South Africa, many wondered whether it might be the end of the 34-year-old's Test career, especially as he'd pondered his retirement from international cricket following England's most recent Ashes triumph, the fifth of his career. What else is there for him to achieve?
But with the sad news of Taylor's enforced exit, suddenly there is a spot open for Bell and he is hungry to fill it, scoring 174 in Warwickshire's opening County Championship game of the season against Hampshire. Also, lest we forget, Bell loves batting at five! In the 60 of his 205 Test innings he has batted there, Bell has hit nine of his 22 hundreds - his average of 48.25 bettering his career 42.69.
Gary Ballance
Potentially the next cab off the rank is Ballance, who played understudy as the spare batsman for the tour of South Africa. Dropped mid-Ashes last year when struggling to perfect a top-order technique batting at three, a move lower down the order could see him feel considerably more comfortable.
Plus, Ballance hardly failed too greatly in his early efforts in Test cricket, scoring 1,194 runs in his first 15 Tests at an average of 47.76, so he would argue he deserves another shot. It could come at five, or perhaps England look to plug him in again at three, with doubts remaining over Compton, a man yet to get going this season.
James Vince
Vince is another potential 'floating' option should England choose for a greater middle-order shake-up. Long earmarked for Test success, the 25-year-old is a regular in England's white-ball squads. 'Squads' being the optimum word, as Vince's role has mainly been that of chief benchwarmer, with just four T20I - albeit impressive - performances to his name, and one rained off ODI against Ireland last summer.
While it's obvious the management like having him around the set-up, the main hindrance to Test recognition was seemingly a poor 2015 in the County Championship for Hampshire, Vince averaging only 28.58 as he struggled with the step-up from Division Two. But he has started well this year, striking a vital 119 against the reigning county champions no less, having come to the crease with his side 9-1 following Yorkshire's mammoth 593-9 declared.
Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow smashed a first-class career-best 246 in that Yorkshire innings, before smiting 198 against Surrey on Monday. Moving the wicketkeeper-batsman back up to five in the order would free up space for England to bring back Jos Buttler at seven. It would also mean that Bairstow - who had a tricky time of it behind the stumps in South Africa - can give up the gloves and focus solely on batting.
It may be that Buttler is still absent from the side for the first Test against Sri Lanka, what with his IPL commitments for Mumbai Indians, but England could still choose to relieve Bairstow of the gloves and perhaps give an opportunity to talented keeper-batsmen like Adam Wheater of Hampshire or Surrey's Ben Foakes.
Jason Roy
His place in England's white-ball sides seemed under threat after a poor series in South Africa with just a combined 120 runs over seven ODI and T20I innings at the top of the order, but he bounced back emphatically at the World T20. Roy smashed 183 runs in six innings, at a strike-rate of 148.78, producing three particularly vital knocks to help England navigate their way to the final.
Roy hit 43 off 16 balls in the record run-chase against South Africa, 43 off 39 against Sri Lanka to help book a semi-final spot, and then 78 off 44 in that semi win over New Zealand. His opportunity in Test cricket could come far sooner than expected. Trevor Bayliss is a big fan, and first division cricket this year batting at five for Surrey could be enough to persuade him to plump for Roy.
Who would YOU pick in England's middle order? Let us know by commenting below if viewing on skysports.com or tweet us @SkyCricket...
Then head to Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports' digital platforms on Thursday morning for first news of England's Test squad to play Sri Lanka.
