Mark Ramprakash has urged England to "keep faith" in their most talented young batters in a bid to address their ongoing struggles in Test match cricket.
England have handed Test debuts to 21 different batters since the start of 2015 but only one of them, opener Rory Burns, averages more than 30. Among them, 10 were aged 25 or under when they debuted and only six have made more than 15 appearances.
Ramprakash, who worked as England's batting coach between 2014 and 2019, believes young batters need to be given an extended run in the side in order to fulfil their potential. "If we are to create an experienced core we must keep faith in the best of our young players, which means celebrating their successes and forgiving their failure," he wrote in the Guardian.
"There is a lot of scrutiny in red-ball cricket. As a batter you’re expected to make good decisions for long periods of time and there is not a lot of understanding when attention slips and you pay the price.
"These players’ confidence has to be protected, by making sure they are in supportive environments at their counties and with England, surrounded by people who trust them, who know their games and their personalities. Batters often go through cycles of getting picked, not doing well, getting dropped and eventually getting selected again – and every time the pressure is heightened.
"That makes it harder still to be clear‑minded and find a simple, repeatable method in the way you bat. Players need to focus, but they also need to be relaxed enough to enjoy the occasion."
Ramprakash went on to name the likes of Ollie Pope, Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence as four players England need to back. Of those players, Hameed was dropped following a lean Ashes series, while Pope was a non-playing member of the squad which was beaten by the West Indies.
Both Crawley and Lawrence showed their promise in the Caribbean, with Crawley scoring a brilliant hundred in the first Test and Lawrence striking 91 in the second. However, they also struggled at times, with Crawley getting out for four single-figure scores and Lawrence managing enduring a poor final Test.
England also handed opener Alex Lees his debut during the series and the 28-year-old showed flashes of his promise with a pair of 30s in Grenada when Jonny Bairstow was the only other England batter to reach double figures.
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