Brendon McCullum, England’s new head coach, is looking forward to a swift selection meeting for the Ashes squad. A good chunk of the team is already in place. Our online meeting goes live the week of September 22. Today, we’ll take a closer look at selecting the second spinner to back Shoaib Bashir and completing our fast-bowling cadre.
McCullum was bullish about the depth and quality of the squad. It was fairly obvious that major players such as Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue were going to make the squad. England are yet to decide whether to add Potts and another pace bowler. They are likely to go with as many as seven specialist seamers for their next Test against Bangladesh. This would increase the match-day squad size to 17 players.
There’s a couple of other guys I’m conversing with right now, McCullum said, symptomatic of the conversations that have to be had in the build-up to squad places. He added, “Hopefully we will confirm one of those. They’re good names. It would be nice to add them.”
As one of those bold decisions, McCullum has already announced that England will not have a specialist backup wicketkeeper to Jamie Smith. Ollie Pope will therefore be on call to replace him behind the stumps if needed. The coach further stated that Rehan Ahmed is presently in favour to take on the role as Bashir’s backup.
McCullum conceded coming this close to the Ashes would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. He explained the selection of left-arm option, Liam Dawson in the squad for last two Tests. He promised that whoever was selected would be chosen through a process deeply rooted in equity and consideration of many factors.
These are issues that we need to talk about more. Let’s make sure that we know what the backup roles are and find those opportunities for improvement, potential opportunities, he said of the squad’s backup positions.
The Ashes tour begins in Perth on November 21. Which is what makes the forthcoming selection meeting so important to putting the team finally in place. McCullum confirmed that skipper Ben Stokes is recovering from a shoulder injury. This injury eventually ruled him out of the final Test versus India.
“Ben is progressing well,” McCullum noted. Fitness problems have prevented Stokes from being able to play in England’s past four Test series entirely. That raises worrying questions about his fitness for this summer’s Ashes.
Harry Brook has made himself quite comfortable in the role of England’s white-ball captain this summer. Most of his backers now consider Wissam to be the best candidate to take over Stokes when he eventually steps back from the role henceforth.
Even an embarrassingly simple team to select I thought, McCullum said, emphasising his belief in the make-up of the squad right now. Two, he re-emphasized that the team’s direction is largely already set. He admitted that there were still things to sharpen as they get ready for the series.
“Every time you get together with a series, you discuss things,” he added, emphasizing the importance of ongoing communication within the team.
In the face of such unknowns, not least in player fitness and form, McCullum is unphased, even bullish about England’s chances in Australia. He noted that “there is a multitude of things which could unfold” as they finalize their strategy and lineup.
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