Identifying a player of international class, capable of performing against the best players in the world, is not easy. There are very few Test cricketers who immediately look assured in this harshest of spotlights, and those who do have an aura about them. Kevin Pietersen, Virat Kohli, Michael Clarke and Dale Steyn are all examples of players who looked the part almost as soon as they stepped across the white line. They may not have succeeded straight away but everything about them suggested that success would follow.
England have had success identifying and selecting bowlers to make an impact and certainly more so in recent times. Putting spinners to one side, Mark Wood is the latest example and he follows in a line of fast bowlers that include Simon Jones, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Andrew Flintoff, not to mention Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison.
Very few bowlers have been found wanting and those on the side-lines, like Liam Plunkett, have not disappointed when provided with an opportunity. For them it’s been more a lack of opportunities to impress due to the consistency and effectiveness of the seamers picked ahead of them. It also speaks volumes for the ability of the backroom staff and the bowlers themselves that they have stayed relatively injury free over the last decade, bar a few minor niggles.
England’s Ongoing Selection Issues
However, from a batting perspective, England have traditionally struggled to identify players with the right fortitude, attitude, character and ability to get the job done. Those who regularly light up the County Championship have not necessarily translated that into success on the biggest stage. Of course, it’s much harder for a batsman to adapt – one tiny mistake can bring an innings to an end and the margin for error is so much smaller in Test cricket.
Some have managed it. Joe Root and Michael Vaughan are examples of players who were marked down as players with that special something. Players who, it seemed, were pre-determined to make a success of international cricket. Neither has been without their struggles but which batsman has not? Neither, however, spent many years being groomed in county cricket. They, along with Pietersen, stood out as players with natural ability and the right temperament early in their county careers and were given the chance to prove themselves early.
The likes of Adam Lyth, Nick Compton, Sam Robson, Michael Carberry, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow have been high achievers in county cricket but — at least as of yet — have failed to make a significant mark on Test cricket. You could argue that some, like Carberry, bore the brunt of very disappointing series results; in Carberry’s case it could be suggested that he was made a scapegoat on a horrendous tour all round for the team.
Others have had fleeting success; Lyth made a century in his second Test but then suffered a poor run of form in the recent series against Australia; Compton has scored over 10,000 first-class runs but was not deemed up to scratch, despite two centuries in the series against New Zealand in 2013. 262 runs in his other 15 innings for England were simply not enough to retain his place. Gary Ballance was the highest run scorer in the County Championship Division 1 in 2013 and had a phenomenal first year in Test cricket, but then had a torrid spell and his predilection for limited foot movement was found out by the international fast bowling community.
These are the best players in county cricket therefore there is an argument to suggest that England selection based on the next ‘cab off the rank’ philosophy isn’t really working. James Taylor is the latest inclusion in a side that has seen Ballance lose his place and Jonathan Trott retire from international cricket, while Ian Bell continues to struggle.
Taylor has been on the fringes for a while now, having toured with England Lions and moved himself to Nottinghamshire to put himself in the Division One County Championship spotlight. He has done well in one-day cricket and deserves his chance to stake his claim for a middle order berth in the Test team. Selectors, coaches and players alike have had plenty of opportunity to assess his credentials for Test cricket and his busy approach to batting, much like Joe Root, has brought about early success.
The more concerning question is what next. It’s clear that County Championship cricket is an unconvincing indicator of international ability, specifically when looking at batsmen. Of the top ten run scorers in Division 1 in 2015, one has retired from Test cricket (Marcus Trescothick), four have already been picked for England in some format (Luke Wright, Jonny Bairstow, Nick Compton and Michael Carberry) while the others are considered to be good county professionals, although Scott Borthwick has had three very solid seasons at Durham after transforming himself into an all-rounder. Sitting atop the Division 2 table for runs scored in 2015 was South African, Ashwell Prince, which tells its own story.
With Bell struggling in the middle order and only Alastair Cook and Root appearing to have the ability and consistency to cope with world-class bowling, England have a legitimate longer term problem, one that with South Africa looming over the horizon will not be made any easier this winter. England’s Performance Programme also appears to be focused more with T20 cricket in mind this winter and that will not support the aspirations of players to break into the Test team in the summer of 2016.
There are plenty of players in the county game with talent, many of whom have represented England over the last three years, but no-one has stamped his authority on the side and nailed down a slot in the top six. The likelihood of a continued revolving door seems to be quite high unless a more successful way of identifying Test potential is found.
