England v India – our team for the pink ball Test

There is nothing better than watching two great Cricket nations battle it out in Test Cricket. I just love watching the ebbs and flows of the game and for me Test Cricket will always be the best form of Cricket to watch. With the series evenly poised at one all, the attention now moves onto the Day/ Night Test in Ahmedabad. A brand new stadium, a brand new pitch and a pink ball being used for the first time in India. We can only speculate as to what is going to happen. Will the pitch be seamer friendly? Will the pink ball swing? Will India stick to their strengths and prepare a spin friendly wicket? All these questions will be answered in time but England must select a team that is best suited to these unknown conditions. Below is my team in batting order and my reasons for selecting these players. I have taken into account players being rested and have picked the team based on the players available. If available, Jos Buttler would be in my Xl. Unfortunately he is not available (a blog for another time, but I’m NOT HAPPY) so this is my team.

1.       Zak Crawley- Assuming Crawley is fit and recovered from injury, he comes into the side in place of Rory Burns. Burns has not come to grips with the Indian fast bowlers targeting his stumps from around the wicket. He is too much of an LBW and Bowled risk. If he does survive the quicks then he has to deal with Ashwin whose record against left handed batsman is outstanding. Crawley is right handed, and being a tall man he has a bigger than average stride. His 267 last summer oozed class and at 23 years old he is a potential English superstar with the bat. He needs to learn to adjust his game to suit Indian conditions, but he can’t do this if not given the chance.

2.       Dom Sibley- Sibley gets the nod from me instead of Burns, because he is right handed. Ashwin is slightly less effective against right handed batsman and Sibley proved in Sri Lanka that he is capable of scoring against good spin bowlers on a spinning wicket. When Sibley is in he is a very hard batsman to get out. His role in the team is to bat time and for the others in the team to bat around him. England won the first test by batting time and tiring out the Indian bowlers. If Sibley makes a score of any note you can guarantee the Indian bowlers would have worked hard for his wicket.

3.       Jonny Bairstow- Bairstow comes in for the unlucky Dan Lawrence. I do think Lawrence has a place in Test Cricket but asking him to bat three against India in India has been a huge ask. For me, Lawrence needs to play against slightly easier opposition to build confidence and gain experience. There is no lack of experience with Bairstow, and he is a proven player against spin. He has an above average Test Record and he is a welcome addition to the England team after returning from his break from the touring bubble. I just hope he hasn’t gone rusty, he needs to be ready to go and I am sure he is.

4.       Joe Root- In my opinion is the world’s number two Test Batsman behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. He picks himself.

5.       Ben Stokes- Another class act that picks himself. England’s second best batsman and a world cricket superstar. Has to play.

6.       Ollie Pope- Is still learning the game but he does look good and England will be hoping he finds form this test. If Jos Buttler was available then Ollie would not have made my team. At present Buttler is a superior batsman to Pope and he would have made a fantastic number six for this test. However, he is not available and for me Pope is the best of the batting talent available for selection. He gets the nod.

7.       Ben Foakes- I am a massive fan of playing the best glove man available and Ben Foakes is by far the best Wicket Keeper that England has. He is also a very handy batsman and for me he should always be selected in front of Buttler and Bairstow for Wicket Keeping duties in Test matches. Buttler and Bairstow are both very good wicket keepers but Foakes is an outstanding one and therefore should always play.

8.       Chris Woakes- Woakes gets the nod ahead of Dom Bess for this test because it is Day/Night test with a pink ball. India were bowled out very cheaply with a pink ball against Australia when they last played a day/night test and Woakes is an excellent bowler to exploit the conditions if the pitch does favour seam. Even if the wicket doesn’t favour seam, Woakes can still bowl accurately and can do a job for England. He is an underrated cricketer who would be itching for a match and he will be fired up for this. He is also a very handy lower order batsman and this is the reason I am picking him instead of Stuart Broad. Broad has lost all confidence with the bat and England can’t afford to have four bowlers who can’t bat in their team. Woakes is a quality lower order batsman capable of scoring big runs if required.

9.       Jofra Archer- If fit, Archer just gets the nod in front of Mark Wood and Ollie Stone - who are both impressive bowlers in their own right. Archer is probably the most natural fast bowler I have seen and on his day is a match winner. He can bowl long spells if required and he can also bowl short spells of very quick bowling. He is probably a fraction more versatile than Wood or Stone and he makes my eleven.

10.   Jack Leach- Leach is currently the best spin bowler in England so therefore he plays in front of Dom Bess. Leach offers more control than Bess and he spins the ball away from the Indian right handers. He is growing in confidence and deserves his place in the team.

11.   Jimmy Anderson- It was a massive error to rest Anderson for the second test. He needed to play and I can’t understand why when you are one nil up in a series you decide to ‘rest’ your best bowler. Fair enough I guess if there was no gap between the second and third test but the players have had plenty of time to recover from the previous test. Anderson is not a young man but he is extremely fit and he could have easily played. He will be extremely well rested now and ready to go. Conditions should suit and he will bowl well; he always does.

So that is my team.  One thing that is for sure is that Test Cricket is fantastic. There is no better form of Cricket and I can’t wait until the next match

Good luck England, play well!