5 reasons why England need to be concerned ahead of the Ashes

3. Uncertainty about the No. 3 and No. 5 positions

Westley hasn't quite been able to replicate his County form in the England shirt

If the opening position is a concern, No. 3 position is a bigger problem for England. With Joe Root preferring to bat at No. 4, the No. 3 position became vacant after the India series which ended in December. England recalled Gary Balance (it was his third comeback since his Test debut in 2014) for the South Africa series.

He didn’t inspire any sort of confidence, averaging only 21.25 in four innings before he broke his finger and was ruled out. Tom Westley replaced him and impressed on Test debut scoring 25 and 59 in difficult conditions. But since then, he has faded off scoring just 57 runs in his next five innings.

With England deciding to play an extra batsman, Jonny Bairstow moved to No. 7 and No. 5 position went to Dawid Malan. In the four tests he played, he scored two gritty fifties but also squandered opportunities to make big scores. Whenever Malan has batted, he has looked iffy and struggled in most of his innings.

Westley and Malan both have one more test before the Ashes to instil confidence in the team management.