Think they may as well keep the same batting line up - Bancroft and Khawaja have had chances - not exactly up and coming youngsters
Come first test of the summer the batting lineup should be
1. Warner
2. ???
3. Labuschagne
4. Smith
5. Head
6. ???
The blank spots go to whoever gets runs in the opening rounds of the shield (knowing our luck we will end with highest shield scorers of Harris, Bancroft and Wade). It would be a good time to put in pucovski or Patterson at 6
dare i say it... m marsh as fourth bowler considering we only need a draw?
Well Siddle bowls about the same speed as Lyon.I can see Siddle coming in if Lyon can't bowl his usual overs. Siddle can bowl long spells and doesn't really matter if he breaks down.
I wish they put Khawaja at opener when Smith returned now they are in a tough spot. Khawaja for Harris would be my choice.
Siddle and Wade the magnificents ?
England keeping the same squad of 13 - Stokes may not be able to bowl
That's absolutely amazing, and shows how completely lost the English selectors are.
Dom Sibley has 950 runs @ 55 with thee 100s and four 50s opening the batting in Division 1 of the County Championship. Ollie Pope has a career FC average of 60, and scored 221* in his last FC outing.
To look at this side of plodders and hackers and go 'nah, all good on the batting front' is utterly insane. They aren't even young anymore. Bairstow, Buttler, Roy are all pushing 30. How could this possibly be the 'future' of English cricket?
I don’t really follow county cricket so I’d assumed the cupboard was bare. How they think Roy is a test cricketer is beyond me.
The selections are out of control.
To be fair though we should have beaten them in third test even without smith but for a dud umpire decision and for us repeatedly shooting ourselves in the foot.Can’t help but think how different this series would be if it wasn’t for Steve smith
It seems like they have copied the Australian selection theory from about 2 or 3 years agoIt's even worse when you break down some of the stats.
Jason Roy through 83 FC matches has never batted through two sessions of cricket at any level, ever.
Jos Buttler has one hundred in 62 test innings, and only five FC hundreds.
Jonny Bairstow averages 25 in the last 18 months.
The selections are out of control.
It would have been closer but our plod is marginally better than their plod.Can’t help but think how different this series would be if it wasn’t for Steve smith