England v Bangladesh: 1st Test Preview, England Face Tricky Decisions

 

England v Bangladesh: 1^st Test Preview

England Face Tricky Decisions

October 19^th  2016

No one knows what side England will pick for tomorrow’s 1^st Test. There are opinions for all tastes. It is assumed that the balance will be 3 seamers + 3 spinners. However, past that, the side is quite uncertain and will depend on the gut-feeling of management on the day.

The key decisions are:

Who will open with Alistair Cook? Ben Duckett looked to have sealed his place in the warm-ups having done so well in the ODIs. He is definitely the better foil for Alistair Cook: dasher to Cook’s patient approach, Duckett could hit the attack off its line and demoralise it early. In contrast, Hameed is more patient and scores slowly. He would wear down and tire the bowlers.  A few days ago it looked as if Duckett would get the nod, now the smart money seems to be on Hameed.

Who will bat at #3? There is a case for playing Duckett or Hameed at #3 and allowing Joe Root to move back to his preferred #4 spot, or for the one of the two who is not picked to open coming in at #4. Would England risk debutants opening and at first drop?

Ballance or the loser between Hameed and Duckett? An extension of the previous poser. Reading the runes from the warm-up, the fact that Ballance came in so low down the order seemed to suggest that he was unlikely to play although, his experience could be preferred. However, his county season was poor apart from one, large innings and his Test form has been mediocre, as have been his returns in the warm-ups. The press seem to want/expect Ballance to play. The braver call would be to play Duckett.

Who will be third spinner? It is assumed that Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will be the first two names after Alistair Cook and Joe Root. Off spin and leg break. With searing heat and humidity, spinners will have to bowl long, containing spells. That would favour the nous of Gareth Batty over the precocious talent of Zafir Ansari. However, Batty is now 39 and has been tried and found wanting at this level. It is true though that Pat Pocock, Peter Such, John Childs and Shaun Udal were all gloriously re-commissioned, but it is still a gamble. It also means playing two off-spinners. Ansari has the advantage of being younger and of being conventional slow left arm, giving Alistair Cook three, quite distinct styles and lines of attack. Ansari was also the choice for the UAE tour last winter and, if only for consistency, should be tried. Personally, I would prefer Ansari, but can see why Batty might be picked ahead of him.

There is even the long-shot option that England could play all four spinners and sacrifice a batsman. With Stuart Broad, who averages 22 in Tests, likely to bat at #11 and three of the four spinners, as well as two of the three seamers able to play as specialist batsmen, England would still bat down to #9. Critics would say that it would mean England playing too many all-rounders who are not good enough either with the bat or with the ball, but it might be the pragmatic choice.

It seems that the seamers will be Broad, Woakes and Stokes. Steve Finn, who made such an impact on debut in Bangladesh in 2009, looks unlikely to be considered and poor old Jake Ball, star of the ODIs, seems to have been mislaid, as he has vanished without trace.

There is also a case for playing Jos Buttler in the middle order. England’s management wants to get him in the side, but his only red ball innings of the year, in the second warm-up, was extremely brief. It would be a very difficult decision to play him over a player who has recent red ball form.

There are so many options that we may well see a few surprises in the final XI.