Three Talking Points from the England Squad Selection

India vs England is shaping up to be one of the biggest test series of recent times, as the World’s No.1 side (India) try to win a series in a country where they traditionally struggle. Nonetheless, England have been under constant strife over the past two years with only three batsmen (Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow) and two bowlers (James Anderson) consistently holding their places in the side.

Thus England’s squad selection on Thursday was quite an interesting event as new chief selector Ed Smith made a few controversial choices.

Most prominent among these was the selection of Adil Rashid, who had ‘retired’ from first-class cricket earlier this year and had refused to play for his county team Yorkshire.

This and many other controversial decisions will help decide the fate of the test series. So what are some takeaways and talking points from this squad selection.

Note: All Statistics compiled from ESPNCricinfo

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#1 England’s Middle Order Continues to be Weak

Over the past three or four years, nothing has been more common in English cricket than the inevitable upper middle order collapse. While England has one great batsman in Joe Root, the rest of their middle order has struggled on numerous occasions.

After the dismissals of Cook and Root, most opposition teams have sensed blood and taken advantage of England’s relatively weaker players at No.4 or No.5 (since Root now plays as a No.3).

This will likely continue in the series against India as England have likely selected Dawid Malan, Johnny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Butler for the slots from No.4 to No.7 (if England decides to go with five pure bowlers then Moeen Ali could be elevated to No.7 and Malan dropped). This is rather risky considering that they average 29.00, 38.40, 34.85 and 35.00 respectively.

Moreover, Malan and Buttler have scored a single hundred between them, showing an inability to play long (apart from one Malan knock at Perth). Furthermore, the temperament of all these players is naturally attacking and this may cause issues.

Only Bairstow is a really reliable option and thus England may encounter some middle-order struggles (in addition to their traditional issues regarding Cook’s opening partner). However, England will be hoping that their relatively strong lower order (with Ali, Stuart Broad and possibly Sam Curran) makes up for this weakness.

#2 England are targeting Virat Kohli

England might be trying to do the same to a lesser extent against India as they come up against Virat Kohli

England has a history of targeting great batsmen. After all, the Bodyline series of 1932 (mostly plotted to stop the great Donald Bradman) and Nasser Hussein’s infamous leg theory to stop Sachin Tendulkar are both part of cricketing folklore.

England might be trying to do the same to a lesser extent against India as they come up against Virat Kohli.

While Kohli averaged a horrible 13.40 in his last series in England, he has since become one of the batsmen in the world, averaging an incredible 73.11 runs since the start of 2016. Thus, it is not surprising that England is trying to come up with plans against him. After all, most of England’s controversial squad selections can be attributed as targeting Kohli.

Firstly, Adil Rashid’s selection can partially be attributed to his dismissal of Kohli in the third ODI when a decent ball befuddled Kohli who was bowled.

Despite having played no first-class cricket for a year, Rashid was selected thus suggesting a possible inclination to target the Indian captain.

Similar reasons seem to have coloured the selection of Jamie Porter, who was the top wicket-taker in the Championship last season.

Yet he was not selected for subsequent tours against Australia and New Zealand or the home series against Pakistan.

It was only in this series against India, that Porter was finally chosen. This is perhaps because (as discussed by Alan Butcher on the Switch Hit Podcast yesterday) Porter has the ability to swing the ball outside off stump in an area that Kohli is likely to find uncomfortable. It is clear that England is focused on wicket more than all others: that of the Indian captain.

#3 The Edgbaston Pitch may be Slower than expected

There is a strong possibility that England could go with two spinners

When India arrived in England, the expectation is grassy green pitches where swing and pace dominate. Part of this is due to natural conditions where swing dominates, no matter who arrives on the British Isles.

Moreover, to an extent, this is further exacerbated when Indian batsmen come to England considering their struggles in such conditions.

However, this may not be the case for the first test of the series. This can be seen from the fact that England has selected two spinners in their thirteen man squad. Considering that only two players will be dropped from this squad in the first test, there is a strong possibility that England goes with two spinners: Ali and Rashid.

Playing two spinners at home is unheard of for the English side, suggesting that they believe that the pitch may be slower and more conducive to spin bowling than expected. Moreover, this is supported by other observations.

The last county game played at Edgbaston saw spinners take 41.67% of the wickets in the game, unusually high in England. India will be hoping that this is the case.

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