From that I'd expect Sibley and Burns look most likely to open unless Jennings does exceptionally well.
Crawley v Denly for number 3 and Bairstow (sigh) v Lawrence for 4. Guess Denly or Pope could play 4 too.
Absolutely ridiculous decision. Your captain has to justify his own place in the team, so your vice captain absolutely should do as well. Buttler averages 21 in his last ten Tests, with keeping that is adequate but not outstanding at Test level.Buttler V/C. So looks like Foakes coming in is unlikely.
It gets worse and worse - I could make peace with Dan Lawrence as a stop-gap number four, but the omission of Sam Hain after a coming-of-age Championship season continues to baffle me. At the same time though, I did fully expect Bairstow and Buttler to play so what the hell.
Yeah, that is a fair argument. I did pick the team on the basis that Holder was fit to bowl - this would give you a seam trio of two seam/swing bowlers (Holder and Roach) and one express paceman (Gabriel). I believe that that's the structure you want in a Test seam attack, and stand by it.Looking at @Aislabie and the team he picked, I have some doubts. You picked that team assuming Holder can bowl in the match.
I really don't like the idea of having just 2 specialist seamers. I want Alzarri or Chemar in my squad. I want 3 frontline seamers and one bowling all rounder. West Indies regularly have a problem taking 20 wickets in a match. That can't happen in England. I want the most aggressive most potent bowlers. Alzarri is a good batsman.
Cornwall is better than everyone thinks he is. I don't care what anyone says about him.
I agree with not playing Campbell. Shai Hope opens in ODIs, I want him there.
Otherwise unless I've missed something, I agree with the picks.
From that I'd expect Sibley and Burns look most likely to open unless Jennings does exceptionally well.
Crawley v Denly for number 3 and Bairstow (sigh) v Lawrence for 4. Guess Denly or Pope could play 4 too.
I don't see Jennings being picked ahead of Sibley. Jennings was only back in the reckoning because he's a 'sub-continent specialist' and Burns did his ankle. I think Crawley improved game by game enough in South Africa (and got a century in the warm up in Sri Lanka) to stand a good chance of getting ahead of Denly at three. I would like to see someone other than Bairstow at four, but he gets more chances than anyone. Stokes then Pope. Buttler to keep.Looking at that I can almost be sure of England's squad...which is sort of sad, actually.
Rory Burns
Keaton Jennings (they will most likely not drop him for the first game yet)
Joe Denly
Jonny Bairstow
Ollie Pope
Ben Stokes
Joss Buttler
Moeen Ali
Stuart Broad
Jimmy Anderson
Jofra Archer
Who will keep? Hell if I know. I really like Foakes as a keeper, so I'm hoping he delivers in the practice match and gets picked for the gloves. I WANT to be proven wrong about Jennings, but I'm not sure I will be.
The more interesting discussion is about the bowling. Archer simply has to play no matter how he does in the warmup, so he's a given. Broad expressed some doubts about being picked in all the matches recently, and as great as Anderson is, it's hard to think of him playing the entire series unless he's absolutely required to given his age.
That specialist number 7 role never worked out did it.No Bairstow is good news but the continued faith in Buttler puzzles me. The only case I can see for his inclusion is that with the presence of a settled top six before him, he is free to play as a poor man's Gilchrist and score rapidly to pulverize any bowling attack. This is pure conjecture though based on his ODI style as Buttler isn't even as good as Foakes with the bat in first-class cricket let alone the gloves. I would have also picked Leach due to West Indies' weakness to left-arm spin and also Lawrence due to his form. It does seem likely that Root will slot straight back in and that would mean Lawrence being axed no matter what he does so I can see the case for his exclusion along with Leach's due to the injuries he suffered.
ha ha that was DH.....beautifully written book though!DW Lawrence is a new name to me on the cricket field, but didn't he write Lady Chatterley's Lover?