Zak Crawley and Shoaib Bashir set to keep England spots for Zimbabwe Test
Ben Stokes is likely to return after injury.
England are poised to keep faith in misfiring duo Zak Crawley and Shoaib Bashir when they announce their squad to face Zimbabwe this week in this summer’s Test curtain-raiser.
Given a torrid working over in New Zealand by Matt Henry in England’s last assignment, averaging 8.66, Crawley was dropped by his SA20 franchise in January and has had modest returns for Kent this season.
First-innings scores of one, nought and one in Division Two of the Rothesay County Championship are counter-balanced by a couple of fifties second time around but the jury is still out on the opener.
He still has some credit in the bank after averaging 46.68 in his most recent outings against India and Australia, whom England face in two marquee series following the aperitif of Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
Crawley therefore seems likely to slot in alongside Ben Duckett for the four-day Test from May 22-25 but Durham’s Ben McKinney and Sussex’s Tom Haines are alternatives, having impressed so far this term.
McKinney has attracted admiring glances after a starring role for England Lions in Australia over the winter so the 20-year-old might get a senior call-up to give him a feel for the environment.
Bashir’s place is also open to scrutiny despite him being the leading Test wicket-taker among spinners last year with 49 dismissals, having captured them at a bloated 40.16 apiece.
A Glamorgan loan stint has yielded two wickets at 152 but England have backed him to the hilt in the past, with his bounce and over-spin two attributes that could see him prosper this year in Australia.
Perennial candidate Liam Dawson and Jack Carson are other options, with a nod for 17-year-old Farhan Ahmed, younger brother of England international Rehan, seemingly doubtful at this stage of his career.
Ollie Pope is another under the microscope having yet to truly nail the number-three role but he should return after filling in as wicketkeeper-batter in New Zealand with Jamie Smith on paternity leave.
While Jacob Bethell made three fifties against the Kiwis as Pope’s understudy, England are unlikely to recall anyone at the Indian Premier League, with the 21-year-old at Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Ben Stokes is still regaining fitness from hamstring surgery in January so Zimbabwe could be the England captain’s only taste of red-ball cricket before the five-Test series against India this summer.
Chris Woakes has been struggling with an ankle injury, which might mean an overdue selection for Sam Cook, one of the finest county seamers on the circuit with 318 first-class wickets at 19.77.
Cook and Matthew Potts seem the contenders to share the new ball alongside Gus Atkinson while England’s need for speed could be quenched by Brydon Carse, working his way back following a nagging toe problem.
With Mark Wood and Olly Stone out for several months and Jofra Archer at the IPL, Josh Tongue is back in contention after two years out injured, while Sonny Baker is also on England’s radar.
England’s possible squad for first Test v Zimbabwe from May 22-25: Z Crawley, B Duckett, B McKinney, O Pope, J Root, H Brook, B Stokes (captain), J Smith, G Atkinson, M Potts, S Cook, B Carse, J Tongue, S Bashir.
