Since the start of 2015, England have handed Test debuts to 37 different players of which just three have been aged 30 or over.
Mark Stoneman and Sam Billings were both 30 when they made their debuts, while Joe Denly was 32 when he was given his first Test cap in 2019. In the process, Denly became the oldest batter to make his Test debut for England since Alan Wells back in 1995.
As a result, it is clear that England tend to favour giving young players their debuts in the hope that they will become long-term success stories. However, modern-day superstars like Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad, Joe Root and Ian Bell who all debuted in their early 20s and have gone on to play over 100 Tests are rare.
