The England Cricket teams are preparing for an unusual summer, with no county cricket building up to the international games and a number of fixtures needing to be condensed into a very short amount of time. The busy schedule ahead has been reflected by the the vast size of the squad announced, an unheard of 55-man squad. The majority of the names in the squad are key players and regulars across the formats, however some younger players will be new to the international game or hoping to break into the England setup in the years to come.
Breaking the selection of young talent down into their respective roles, let’s start with the top order batsmen. Dan Lawrence of Essex, despite being just 22 years old, has been touted as a future England player for a few years and has been on numerous England Lions tours. Averaging 38 with the bat in First Class cricket, Lawrence is an elegant batsman who could have the temperament to play Test Match cricket. Lawrence is similar in some ways to James Vince in terms of their style and aesthetics of their game, but as Vince has proved looking stylish with extravagant cover drives does not make you a success at the top level against the best bowlers who will exploit any weaknesses in your game. Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke would seem to be one of the most likely young county cricketers to go on to represent England in the future. A highly rated top order batsman who made the move from Worcestershire to Nottinghamshire, Clarke averages 37 in FC cricket and is still just 24 years old. Warwickshire’s Sam Hain is another likely candidate for a future role in the England setup. Hain has a healthy batting average across all formats, averaging 37 in FC cricket, 59 in List A and 34 in T20’s.
One top order prospect to watch out for in the shorter formats of the game is Sussex’s Phil Salt, who has already played franchise cricket around the world. From playing in the Big Bash in Australia with the Adelaide Strikers, to the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Super League to Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, Salt already possesses a wealth of T20 experience around the world despite still being in his early 20’s. The FC averages of top order batsmen like Lawrence, Hain and Clarke may not be as high as we would typically expect from county players knocking on the door of the national team, which should be over 40. However, all batsmen in county cricket have struggled in recent years and conditions have suited the bowlers more so than the batsmen, which accounts for the lower batting averages. In recent times, only really young Ollie Pope had an impressive average (over 50) before breaking into the England Test team. Although young players like Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley currently occupy the top order spots in the England team, there places are by no means guaranteed and opportunities could very much arise.
England are blessed with a number of quality wicketkeepers across all formats. From Jos Buttler, to Jonny Bairstow to Ben Foakes, England are well stocked. Tom Banton is certainly a very exciting prospect for England in the shorter formats of the game. Banton had a breakthrough season in the T20 Blast last year starring alongside Pakistan batsman Babar Azam for Somerset and has since gone on to represent the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash and Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL. Just 21 years old, he has played 3 ODI’s and 3 T20’s for England over the winter during the tours of New Zealand and South Africa. The only problem for the likes of Banton and the previously mentioned Salt is the all-star quality of the current ODI team. Most of the One-Day team will still be key members of the side at the next 50-over World Cup in 2023, so it will be harder for a player like Banton to hold down a regular position in the ODI team. However, based on Banton’s explosive batting in the shorter formats, he will definitely be a part of One-Day squads in some capacity. Another keeper who will look to push his way into contention for England is Gloucestershire’s James Bracey, who averages 35 with the bat in FC cricket and 60 in List A. Part of the most recent Lions tour, Bracey has also been included in the 55-man squad for this summer’s cricket but has numerous keepers to surpass. Nottinghamshire’s Ben Duckett has already had a taste of international cricket, having played 4 Tests, 3 ODI’s and 1 T20. Averaging 38 in both FC and List A cricket, Duckett has the potential to force his way back into the England setup, more likely in the One-Day teams.
Fast bowling has always been an intriguing talking point with England over the years. Having bowlers who can regular clock over 90mph on a regular basis is a valuable commodity and not something England have always had the luxury of. As mentioned in a previous article, England need bowlers that suit different conditions, for example when going to Australia England have to select more out and out fast bowlers. Currently in the setup England have two express bowlers in the form of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer who play all formats for England. When looking at the up and coming fast bowlers in the county game, there is plenty to get excited about the long-term future of English fast bowling. The one closest to becoming a regular for England is Lancashire’s Saqib Mahmood, who toured for the first time over the winter in New Zealand and South Africa. At just 23 years old, Mahmood averages under 30 with the ball in all formats and is certainly an exciting prospect for England in all formats.
England need to have a battery of fast bowlers so that they can keep all of them fresh and firing. A number of other fast bowlers have all featured on recent England Lions tours, including Durham’s Brydon Carse, Warwickshire’s 20-year-old Henry Brookes, Sussex’s duo of left-arm seamer George Garton and Ollie Robinson and the Worcestershire duo of Pat Brown, who has already played 4 T20’s for England and played in the Big Bash, and Josh Tongue. All 5 of these young bowlers have suffered serious injuries already in their careers. Therefore, it is vital though that the coaches and selectors are careful with all of these young fast bowlers as serious back injuries are common with young bowlers.
Spinners are usually a contentious issue for England, mainly in test cricket where since the days of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar the Test team have struggled to settle on their number one spinner. Whilst Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are the ‘spin twins’ for the ODI side, the principal spinner spot is up for grabs. Young spinners in the county game include Hamidullah Qadri who has recently made the move from Derbyshire to Kent and Surrey’s Amar Virdi, but the one who is the frontrunner for a long-term position across all formats is Lancashire’s Matt Parkinson. Parkinson made his breakthrough with the England side over the winter, making his debut in T20 and ODI cricket but only made the squad for the Test series. Parkinson’s county statistics with the ball are impressive, averaging 25 in FC cricket, 28 in List A and 15 in T20 cricket. Although Parkinson may have to be patient in his attempts to forge his way in the Test game, he could soon be a regular feature in the One-Day team with his leg-spin being such a valuable asset in modern One-Day cricket. It is conceivable to think Parkinson could be the long-term successor to Rashid in the One-Day team, with Rashid into his 30’s now and Parkinson’s numbers deserving of game-time for England.
There are clearly a number of young players who have either just broken into the England setup or are on the verge of doing so. The likes of Saqib Mahmood, Tom Banton, Pat Brown and Matt Parkinson have made their debuts over the winter and are in good shape to become regulars in the England squads. At this moment in time, it is easier to break into the Test team than the One-Day side due to the superior quality of the shorter formats teams. There are however a lack of quality spinners coming through, in part down to the seamer-friendly conditions we usually see in County cricket. Ollie Pope has shown the way for all of these young England players as he has established himself in the Test team and made a very successful start to life in the England side.
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