England World Cup squad: Key questions
As hosts and the No.1 side in the MRF Tyres ODI Team Rankings, they will surely go into the tournament as favourites. Nevertheless, there are several questions about the make-up of their squad. Here’s a look at five of the most pressing.
- England have perhaps the most settled batting line-up in the world; they not only know precisely the identity of their strongest top six – Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler – but they also know who to call if one of those has to be left out, with Alex Hales being in his own right one of the most destructive white-ball batsmen in the world.
Beyond him, the pecking order is less clear cut, with all of James Vince, Dawid Malan and Sam Billings in contention to be the understudy’s understudy. While England may opt to go with just the seven specialist batsmen in their original squad, the expanded group they announce to face Pakistan in five ODIs which precede the World Cup may offer some indication of who they see as next in line after Hales, and give those fringe players a chance to prove their worth.
- Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are established as one of the most fearsome white-ball spin duos in the world, and England have had little recourse to look beyond them since the 2015 World Cup. Liam Dawson, a tidy left-arm finger-spinner and handy lower-order bat, has tended to be their deputy and has earned a reputation as the kind of cool head who could be called up on the morning of a match if someone rolls an ankle.
Joe Denly is another option, having worked on his leg-spin in recent years. A more capable batsman than Dawson, he could serve the dual purposes of being the reserve spinner and Hales’ back-up as a pure batsman. Or England could take a punt, and pick Matt Parkinson, an untried but prodigious leggie, reasoning that if Moeen gets injured, Root’s part-timers can fill in adequately, but if Rashid breaks down, Dawson’s darts are too defensive to serve as replacement for the attacking option he offers.
- Most of the questions surrounding England’s squad selection revolve around their fast bowlers, and none is more pressing than that of Jofra Archer. Having just become available in March, he is yet to make his international debut, and picking him would be throwing an uncapped player into the biggest competition there is. However, those who have seen the otherworldly feats he is capable of with bat, ball, and in the field in T20 leagues around the world might argue that this is a player too good to leave out.
- If England do pick Archer, the question then becomes who they leave out. One option that would have been unthinkable only a year ago is to drop Liam Plunkett. Previously England’s middle-overs maestro, claiming key breakthroughs with his cross-seamers and heavy balls, some feel he has lost that yard of pace which made him so valuable, and that, at 34 years of age, his decline could be terminal. Others argue that the dip is merely temporary and that his experience will come good when it matters.
- Really, the number of permutations of England’s fast bowlers is almost endless. Mark Wood and Chris Woakes might be guaranteed a spot, but that still leaves them needing to pick three out of Archer, Plunkett, David Willey, Tom Curran, and perhaps even Chris Jordan, Harry Gurney, Sam Curran and Olly Stone, who represent wildcards. With the final 10 overs being so key, the debate may come down to who their best death-bowling options are, or even who offers the most with the bat.