England appear to have most bases covered for this summer’s Ashes but continued success from players in the LV= Insurance County Championship might just give selectors pause for thought.
After all, five Tests in just six and a half weeks will stretch England’s resources – it is doubtful any pace bowler will be an ever-present – while injuries or loss of form cannot be discounted.
With the first two rounds of the red-ball season in the books, the PA news agency looks at those who have stood out.
Sam Cook
Opportunity will surely knock at some point for the skilful Essex operator, who possesses an excellent first-class bowling average in the teens and has already taken 10 wickets this season. The 25-year-old may have to up his speed slightly to thrive on the international stage but he can move the ball both ways and collected his 12th five-for in just his 63rd match last week against Lancashire. With James Anderson, 40, and Stuart Broad, 36, moving ever closer to the finish line, ‘Little Chef’, who is on England’s radar as a regular with the second-string Lions, could be the next cab off the rank.
Jamie Porter
Cook’s Essex team-mate and opening bowling partner has drifted out of contention during a modest past couple of seasons in which he was unable to build a rhythm due to injury problems. But match figures of nine for 69 to down Middlesex at Lord’s a couple of weeks ago showed him at his best. As with Cook, Porter, who turns 30 next month, relies on accuracy and movement rather than express pace or steepling bounce and if he can maintain some consistency, he is one of the most reliable bowlers in the country.
Ben Compton
If there is an Ashes spot to be grabbed, it is likely as an opening batter with Zak Crawley’s position under scrutiny. A growing threat is his fellow opener at Kent, whose unbeaten fourth-innings ton sealed a win over Northamptonshire recently. The South Africa-born left-hander, who had a breakout 2022 and is averaging 94.7 in his last six first-class matches with four centuries and a double hundred, ticks a few boxes but an old-fashioned temperament in patience at the crease and grinding out runs is perhaps at odds with the more attacking philosophy England have fostered under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
Alex Davies
Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings is another opener whose stock has risen in the last 12 months but if England are tempted to ditch Crawley and want a like-for-like replacement then Davies fits the mould. A first-class average of just under 35 after more than 100 matches is satisfactory and he caught the eye in Warwickshire’s season opener with a dashing 118 off 153 balls against a Somerset attack containing England bowlers Craig Overton and Jack Leach and former Australia seamer Peter Siddle. If that acts as a yardstick for the campaign ahead then Davies could vault himself to the head of the England queue.
Sam Hain
The Hong Kong-born, Australia-raised batter has put up impressive limited-overs numbers for years although England’s surfeit of options meant he has not had a look in. First-class success has been more intermittent although back-to-back tons against Somerset and Kent have taken the Warwickshire man’s career average north of 40. A season average of 284 seems unsustainable while his success has come in the middle order, where England are already scratching their heads at how to fit everyone in.
