Springing the surprises

One sure way to create a talking point is to announce a new test squad, or at least it seems to be one subject I spend a lot of time talking about on here. The international summer as ever moves along at a rapid rate, with there barely time to pause for breath before the tricky challenge of a test series against Pakistan begins next week. And with Compton dropped, Anderson injured, and Stokes still absent through his injury, the selectors had some interesting decisions to make.

And interesting decisions they were. I have long been something of a cheerleader for Gary Ballance - when he was breaking into the England team, when he was in it, and when he was out of it. But am I surprised he's been recalled? Yes, definitely. And would I have recalled him at this point? It's unlikely. Whilst I firmly believe he still has a test future ahead of him, like most I wasn't expecting this to be the time he would return. There's still the feeling that he hasn't done enough to remedy the issues with his technique - that big movement back in his crease that got him into trouble against the full, swinging ball. An average of 33.64 in the Championship this season has hardly set the world alight either, especially compared to other rivals for England places. But timing is everything, and this week Ballance made a century against a strong Middlesex attack; whilst Scott Borthwick's last three first class innings have been single figure scores.

It will be a challenge for his technique against a Pakistan bowling attack well able to expose any flaws, particularly with the recent return of Mohammad Amir. But Ballance does seem to have the mental character and the appetite for the battle in test cricket, and maybe a move from three to the middle order will serve him well. Certainly it was a surprise when he took the number three spot in the first place, never having been his position for Yorkshire and really having a technique more suited to batting at four or five. Root will be the man moving up to number three, with Bayliss keen on having the best player in the position. Root is adaptable, and certainly has the ability to rise to the challenge - but there's also the argument that if he's doing so well at four, why should you change it? The make up of England's middle order remains uncertain.

An option that was considered, and was looking likely with remarks made by Bayliss in the ODI series, was for Jos Buttler to return to the test team as a specialist batsman. It would have been quite the attacking move, and one definitely in keeping with the philosophy England are trying to employ in all formats. At the end of the day though, the safer option was taken. Buttler may be able to transform himself into a test player in the future, but I'd feel he needs more time batting with the red ball to do so, and with IPL and England commitments hasn't yet played a first class game this season.

The new face in the squad belongs to a bowler, Toby Roland-Jones. Jake Ball may be the front runner to fill James Anderson's spot, but Roland-Jones will provide strong competition and it will be a close contest for the test place. The call up might have been slightly unexpected, not having featured in an England squad before and with little hype before his inclusion. But he has been consistent in county cricket for a number of years, has a first class average of 25.17, and was involved in the Lions setup during the winter - certainly enough to put him on anyone's radar. He's shown his form this week as well, playing a key part with bat and ball as Middlesex defeated Yorkshire by an innings. His selection also gives me the chance to tell anyone who will listen that he belted a brilliant century from number 10 - also against Yorkshire - when I saw him play last year.

Pakistan of course beat England in the winter tests, and England will be wanting to set the record straight in home conditions - though Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz will provide a big test for a batting line up still not yet fully firing. Series against Pakistan can often be an interesting and tense affair, and the potential is there for a close contest between the two sides.

The one-day revolution

About fifteen months ago, England were being knocked out of the ODI World Cup. Another international tournament had come around, and once again England were left chasing the big boys, playing in slow motion as the game had whizzed on ahead of them. The cricket was bland and unexciting, even though the players had the talent to be anything but. Talk of the numbers and par scores seemed to take precedence over the the team's own freedom to attack and express themselves.

Watching England now still almost feels difficult to believe, like if you pinch yourself you might wake up from the dream. There has never been a huge change in personnel - though of course some new faces came in - but the change in attitude has been dramatic. Getting to 300 with the bat no longer feels like a rarity, more like a minimum. England made 324 in the last match and it still felt like they hadn't fully hit their stride. Gone are that team that looked so far behind the times at the 2015 World Cup, with no freedom, joy, or attack. That team lives in the past. The new England are here to stay.

And sure, it's not all been plain sailing. Series losses to Australia in South Africa show that it's still a learning curve, the latter especially an example when they let the series slip from their grasp after taking a 2-0 lead. The first ODI of this series too, showed that the threat of the traditional English batting collapse hasn't disappeared - though a brilliant game of cricket with a thrilling finale, it was still a match where England snatched a tie from the jaws of defeat of a match they should have won. At times it can be that there's just that extra maturity lacking - knowing when to hold back a little and not be gung-ho all the time, or with what approach to take when bowling. But maturity comes with experience, and experience comes with time, and a young team should have plenty of time on its side.

Perhaps Sri Lanka weren't the strongest side, and they have certainly endured a torrid tour. Injuries haven't helped them, and neither has a lack of match practice in English conditions. It was always going to be difficult post-Sangakkara and post-Jayawardene, but there are still shoots of hope. Mathews and Chandimal shared several partnerships worth over fifty, scoring three and four fifties apiece. Kusal Mendis also looked very promising early on in his international career. But the wickets would often come at the wrong times, and just at the moment when Sri Lanka wanted to be gearing up for the back end of the innings, they had to play themselves in again and England could apply the pressure.

After the first match, England just made batting look easy. In the second game, Sri Lanka saw their total of 254 chased down in only 34 overs, Roy and Hales both making centuries without losing their wickets. After a washout, game four brought another century for Jason Roy - 162 runs, just five short of England's record held by Robin Smith. Roy was brilliant, and if he didn't quite find his fluency during his first year in the England team, he's certainly found it now. Smith's record might not be lasting for very much longer. There were fifties too for Root, his typical way of getting runs before anyone notices; Buttler - a 93 that held the innings together in the first match, then a thrilling 70 in the last; and one for Woakes, the key man in the opening tie with 95* before Plunkett's six off the last ball stole the headlines. James Vince also chipped in with a fifty in the final match after coming in for Hales, a first international fifty that will surely give a confidence boost after a difficult test series.

England were on top with the ball, too. Bowling in ODIs is never an easy - or enviable - task, but England did enough to impress. Plunkett and Willey topped the wicket taking charts with ten each, whilst Rashid and Woakes had economies under five for the whole series. England might not know their best bowling attack, and in any case, rotation will always be a factor with others such as Stokes, Finn, Wood, and Topley absent in this series. Here though they struck a good balance - the left arm swing of Willey, the aggression of Plunkett, the pace and consistency of Woakes, and the legspin of Rashid.

Certainly, this England team is more exciting than ever before. And maybe even better than ever before as well, or at least the best England ODI team there's been in recent years. They've made it fun to watch their one day cricket again, something they didn't particularly do before - instead it was more often with a resigned sigh. It was hard to get excited about England's chances when they never valued the game in the way of other countries, but since Strauss took the job at the top every format is a priority, and there has been a focus on one day cricket that was never there before. And it's paying off. England's ODI revolution is going strong. 

That never-ending question

It's not the first time recently that England have emerged from a series victorious, yet still find themselves with several questions still to answer about the side. And yes, it quite often seems to be the very same question that rears its head - after every series, after every match. It's a batting line up that still never fires consistently, still finds itself three or four wickets down for not-very-many, and though the personnel may change, the problem still stays the same.

In any team, there's normally one man under pressure. It's not often that a top six will contain six players all in fine form at the same time. Even in great successes, there's always somebody who has found it that little bit tougher. For England over the last couple of years though, it's rarely just been one batsman. It's happened so many times that it can feel like the phrase 'England's top order failings' is just whirring on repeat in the background. During this series alone England found themselves at 83/5, 84/4, and 50/3 at various times. The lower-middle order, numbers six to eight, bailed them out this time (Bairstow in particular continuing his purple patch), but still - there's only so long England will be able to manage with half the batting line up functioning.

Compton was the man under the spotlight this series, and sadly his international career will surely now be at an end. Though certainly a fine player at county level, we only ever saw glimpses of this in an England shirt - two centuries in New Zealand and the 85 he scored on his return in South Africa, one of the most important innings of the series. But generally at test level, it's never stuck for him. Maybe it's the mental side, or maybe it's about finding his way to score, with comments about his strike rate following him wherever he went. Sport moves on quickly, and chances are hard enough to come by at any age. Almost 33, a third go won't come around.

Times were hard too for James Vince, though just at the beginning of his international career. He is unquestionably a lovely player to watch and easy to appreciate, one who can make it all look easy on a good day. But test cricket is a learning curve, and just looking good doesn't compare to actually making runs. Some also pointed to the fact that his batting average in the second division of the County Championship far exceeds his average in the first (averaging over 60 in both 2013 and 2014 in division two but just 32.70 last year in division one). He's a player who has been on England's radar for a long time and will certainly stay in the side for the series against Pakistan in the second half of the summer. But Pakistan's bowlers should provide more of a threat than Sri Lanka's, and Vince will need to learn fast.

It's not all doom and gloom, of course not. England won the series, and with Cook and Root not providing their usual weight of runs, others stood up. It's still too early to tick off the opener's spot, but Alex Hales certainly stated his case, though ultimately falling just short of a test century in three innings. Maybe he hasn't provided the swashbuckling innings that might have been hoped for when first selected - but more importantly he's shown the key qualities of a test batsman, like patience and control around his off stump. It wasn't easy in South Africa, but he looks to have learnt from the experience. The lower-middle order delivered as well, with a century for Moeen Ali, two for Jonny Bairstow, and Chris Woakes also chipping in with some runs. Whether or not Bairstow should take the gloves will be a debate sure to continue throughout the summer, but he's shown his star quality with the bat on the international stage and has truly been a joy to watch.

What next? Scott Borthwick looks to be the next man in line, a chance to add to his only test cap from the end of the 2013/14 Ashes. He was chosen as a spinner then, but over the past few years his batting has made him stand out more - hitting three centuries this season already. As ever with England, it's a matter of finding the last pieces to complete the puzzle. There's undoubted talent there and they've come out with the result, but they're still something of a work in progress, never quite fully functioning. As it is, the questions continue.

Batting on the brink

Form is a fickle thing in cricket. There might be no reason for it coming and going, yet that's what it does. That effort to find form again might feel like the longest wait in the world, but sometimes all it can take is one good innings, or a couple of lucky wickets. In form, and it feels like everything will just go right; out of form, and everything just goes wrong.

And there can come a point where a player reaches the brink. The last chance when their place in the side, even their career, is on the line. It's the brink where Nick Compton finds himself now. Trevor Bayliss has said he prefers to give players one test too many rather than one test too few; others say he's already been given his test too many. Certainly it looks like his moment of judgement has arrived, after gradually diminishing returns in South Africa and then a poor start to the English summer on both domestic and international fronts. With England's batting lineup still not finding its stride, there's always going to be one man looking like the obvious fall guy, and right now Compton is the next in line.

It can be a defining moment, that last match whilst the axe is sharpened in the background. Think Andrew Strauss - 2008 against New Zealand. A duck in the first innings and his head ready for the chop. 177 in the second innings, a career saved, and the next year he was England's captain. Paul Collingwood against South Africa the same year, coming back fighting in the second innings with 135 at a moment when his career was on the line. Alastair Cook at the end of the summer of 2010, a moment when he might have been on the brink of being dropped ahead of that winter's Ashes series, making 110 in the second innings against Pakistan. We all know what happened after that. Though still young enough to make a comeback, the story still might have been so different.

But the do-or-die moment doesn't work out so well for everybody. For every Cook or Strauss there are many more who can't avoid the chop. Think of all the openers England have gone through in the past few years, and many other batsmen too. Think of Ian Bell, a man with the history and the reputation, but who couldn't turn around his form when that time came. Sometimes the rut is too deep to claw a way out of.

That moment is now for Compton. His place in the side has never been cemented - and it would take more than just runs in the next test at Lord's to stake a claim for a long term future in the team. But fail here, and his international career would surely be at an end. Nearly 33, international chances don't often come round again, and certainly not for a fledgling career such as his.

Will he succeed? We will have to wait and see. And with Compton, it's not just the runs that matter; it's the manner in which they are made, too. It's a question that has followed him around since his first spell in the team - the balance between being cautious in approach and simply not scoring, which often swings too far towards the latter. There's certainly still a place for the grafting innings, but you still need to have that way of letting off the pressure, that release which Compton doesn't always seem to have. Cook and Trott, and Ballance too, though cautious in approach, still did enough to keep the scoreboard ticking, as strike rates in the upper forties show. Compton's strike rate of 35.88 leaves him trailing behind. Test cricket of course is not and should not just be about strike rates, but as everyone else runs ahead, Compton too often stands still.

How might his career have been different had England decided not to chop and change in the first place. After all the struggles England have had with their opening batsmen in the past three years (though Hales has impressed so far this summer), with hindsight it might have been best to keep the faith in the first man chosen as Strauss's replacement. Just like finding form, international sport can be fickle and cruel, and hindsight can give no comfort.

With the knives being sharpened, a game at his home ground of Lord's will give Compton his most important test yet. Here stands a man on the brink, his international career on the line. It's now or never.

Opportunity awaits

Every injury brings an opportunity for somebody else. This week, that opportunity will fall for Chris Woakes, after Ben Stokes was ruled out of the rest of the series against Sri Lanka with a knee injury. Whist Stokes will certainly regain his place in the team upon return from injury - such has been his impact and talismanic effect over the past year - it will give Chris Woakes a chance to dispel the many doubters of his ability at test level.

I must admit, I count myself among those doubters. But though I might have picked Jake Ball ahead of him for the rest of the series, I would love to be proven wrong. Woakes always seems to be a nice guy, and his county record is certainly worthy of him being given this opportunity at international level. Both batting and bowling averages are superior to his fellow all rounder Stokes, and just this week he recorded the exceptional figures of 9/36 against Durham. He is a man in form with the ball, which can make all the difference when coming in to the team. And though he is set to bat at number eight, with both Bairstow and Moeen Ali being promoted a place in the order, as a man with nine first class centuries - who batted at number six on test debut - he can certainly be considered as a genuine all rounder.

So why then are there still doubts? Maybe it's because the man he gets compared to the most, Ben Stokes, is such an explosive player, one who never does anything by halves. Stokes, whilst being far from the finished article, showed almost straight away that he has that 'X factor' - the ability to win matches by himself, that makes people want to sit down and watch. It's a harsh judgement to make on Woakes, as it's not really a quality that can be taught, but it's one that England hold dear in their love affair with all rounders: Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff, Ben Stokes. Woakes isn't from the same mould. But it's hardly fair to judge him on what he's not, instead he should be judged on what he is.

Bowlers have a much tougher time of it than batsmen, and when you're on the fringes of the team it's hard to settle without instant success. Woakes' test career has been stilted, in and out of the team without having a proper chance to nail down that place. One match at the end of the 2013 Ashes series, two tests filling in for injuries in South Africa last winter. Even now his chances beyond this series may be more about what form Steven Finn can discover, than his own. It's hardly a chance to really nail down a place in the side.

For bowlers, it can often be a matter of luck. And that's something Chris Woakes often seems to lack. It's like he's still waiting for that breakthrough, the moment where it all comes together, a spell where one wicket turns to two and so on. So far things just haven't gone his way. Dropped catches haven't helped, and neither have pitches flatter than he'd be used to in the county game. But a lot of the time, he hasn't looked particularly threatening, and batsmen have just settled in against him. He has been yet to show that extra 'something' needed at test level.

Perhaps this match could be the moment that he needs. An early season pitch at Durham is sure to offer a lot for bowlers, and with Woakes in form, bowling quickly and swinging it both ways, this could be his best opportunity yet. Certainly we are yet to see the best of him at this level. Maybe this will be the time for him to make his mark.

All aboard the Bairstow bandwagon

Sometimes in cricket - or indeed any team sport - there are those certain players you feel just a bit more protective over. Maybe they're from your county, or there's something else about them that endears them to you, but you root for them just that little bit more and get more annoyed about any perceived injustices from selectors. For myself, Jonny Bairstow is one of those players. And naturally his success in the first test against Sri Lanka, and more generally over the past year, has been absolutely delightful for me.

Bairstow is one of those players who has been in and out of the England side more than most, across all formats of the game. Whilst he's clearly had the ability to pull off something special - his 41* from 21 balls on ODI debut showed that straight away - there have been plenty of stops and starts along the way. There have been the moments where he's looked every bit the international cricketer, but often too, he has struggled. His technique makes it difficult to dispel the doubters, with all that bottom hand and holding the bat in a way that looks more baseball than cricket; and the glovework still has plenty of room for improvement.

But there were still the reasons to feel he was treated a bit unfairly. Though success could be followed by setback, it wasn't always of his own making. Carrying the gloves in the Champions Trophy wasn't the ideal preparation for the Ashes series to come, and being chucked the gloves in the winter with Australia already 3-0 and ascendant was hardly an enviable task, to name some examples. Sometimes a player doesn't always help themselves, but it doesn't feel like the selectors help them too much either.

Over the last year or so though, Bairstow has been in the kind of form that makes him impossible to ignore. And now he is truly starting to deliver on his potential on the international stage. Certainly he has one of those most important qualities: the man is a fighter. Bairstow seems to specialise in those quick, counter-punchy innings when things aren't entirely going to plan, not letting the opposition settle. He also seems to specialise in mammoth partnerships: his maiden century in South Africa with Stokes hitting the ball everywhere at the other end; last year against Durham with Tim Bresnan; just a few weeks ago with Joe Root against Surrey. A position of weakness can soon be transformed into a position of strength. 140 from Bairstow here, alongside an impressive 86 from Alex Hales, certainly put the match in England's favour. Nine catches behind the stumps added extra gloss. On his home ground, Bairstow showed himself to be a Headingley hero.

While Bairstow might love playing at Headingley, that isn't always true of England's bowlers. Surprisingly for a ground with such a reputation for swing, it's always been tough going for James Anderson. Just two years ago, though with the bat, it was the scene of heartbreak against the same opposition, with the series lost as Anderson was dismissed on the penultimate ball of the match. Finally though, everything fell into place. A switch of ends was all it took, and England were on fire. Anderson took ten wickets in the match, with five in each innings, previously not having taken more than three in an innings at the ground. Broad also took four wickets in the first innings, and Finn three in the second, whilst Stokes saw some vicious swing before his match was ended by injury. It was a harsh lesson for the Sri Lankan batsman unfamiliar in such conditions.

And so, a fine win by an innings and 88 runs to begin the international summer for England. Sri Lanka bowled well, having England struggling at 83/5 before Bairstow joined Hales at the crease, but after that they barely got a sniff. England's batting remains a puzzle to be solved, though the innings by Alex Hales will offer encouragement, showing more of the discipline he needs in the test arena. The main selection dilemma will be who to replace Ben Stokes - the genuine all round option of Chris Woakes, despite a difficult time in South Africa; or a shuffle to the lower order to bring in Jake Ball, the twelfth man in the squad here who has been in fine form for Nottinghamshire this season. The second test begins in Durham on Friday, and may once again promise much for England's seamers.

Charlotte Edwards

Today England captain Charlotte Edwards retired from international cricket, after 20 years as a player and 10 years as captain. Maybe it is the right time, and maybe it isn't so much of a surprise after coach Mark Robinson's comments about player fitness after the recent World Twenty20. Still, it represents the end of an era for the England women's team, and a moment to reflect on the impact she has had in the game.

I haven't met many cricketers, but I have met Charlotte Edwards. When I was fourteen, she came to my club to run a few of the weekly coaching sessions. At the time, the women's team didn't have so much media coverage and exposure, so really I knew relatively little about them compared to the men. But Charlotte Edwards was one of the players I had heard of, and there was a huge buzz about having the England captain coming to run these sessions. Memories of the sessions are bit more blurry now, though I do remember a conversation we shared almost word-for-word. But it had a huge impact, and as a young girl playing cricket I came away with a new hero and inspiration.

Then the following winter, Edwards led England to victory in the World Cup. The following summer they won the first women's World Twenty20, and that summer's Ashes series as well. Women's cricket was firmly on the rise, and Charlotte Edwards was at the forefront. In the following years of increasing coverage and professionalism of the women's game, Edwards was in many ways more than just the captain of the team. She was the leading figure, the go-to person to talk on these events and issues, an icon of women's cricket.

And of course, she was a leader on the pitch, as captain and with the bat. The figures speak for themselves. Four Ashes series wins, victories in global tournaments, captaining England over 200 times in all formats. 2605 runs in Twenty20 internationals, more than anyone playing the game, man or woman. 309 appearances across all formats over a career spanning twenty years. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2014 and awarded a CBE by the Queen. A 20-year international career - when she started playing, the women's team would wear skirts - is the kind of longevity almost unheard of in the modern game.

The World Cup at home in 2017 had promised to be her swansong, but in sport you rarely get the chance to write your own scripts. With a new coach looking to build with a group of younger players, the decision was made to move on without her. Certainly she remains one of England's finest and most consistent batsmen - still the team's leading runscorer at the recent World Twenty20 - but with an increasing emphasis on fitness she was falling behind.

It is a moment that represents the end of an era for this England team, and like many I am intrigued by what the future holds. But still I will be sad to see her go. She is simply an icon of the sport, and for women's sport as a whole, and on a personal level she was my cricketing hero. Thank you, Charlotte Edwards, for all you have brought to the game.