England's 15-man Test squad for the historic tour of Pakistan this winter is full of interesting inclusions, some which make a lot of logical sense and others which are clearly gambles.
Liam Livingstone is the headline selection, with the 29-year-old seeming perfectly suited to Bazball, the phrase used to describe the new positive and aggressive brand of Test cricket England have been playing under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
McCullum has asked his England side to "run towards the danger" and Livingstone will do just that, having made his name over the past few years as one of the most in demand destructive hitters on the T20 franchise circuit. Livingstone is the scorer of England's fastest T20I hundred and is in this squad to provide another spin option, with him and Will Jacks behind frontline spinner Jack Leach.
Livingstone does have genuine first-class pedigree with the bat, with a career average of 38.36, and his ability to bowl a mix of off spin and leg spin has been a useful weapon in the shorter formats. However, since he was last called up to the Test squad in 2018 off the back of a brilliant County Championship campaign with Lancashire that saw him average 47.23, Livingstone's main focus has been white ball cricket and his red ball output has taken a hit.
Since then, he has scored 1,049 runs at an average of less than 30, has not passed fifty since 2019 and has not played a single first-class game in over a year. However, with England unable to tempt Moeen Ali out of retirement, they have gone with two players in Livingstone and Jacks who can fulfil a similar role against Pakistan.
And Livingstone appears more likely to get the nod, despite Jacks playing a crucial role in Surrey's County Championship win, taking 17 wickets as their frontline spinner and averaging 54 with the bat. Livingstone's selection is a real gamble, but one which will be immensely fun if it comes off.
Jacks is another gamble, having delivered around two-thirds of his career overs in first-class cricket this season. But he has been compared to Moeen by his Surrey coach Gareth Batty, himself a former England spinner, and like Livingstone fits England's new positive approach with the bat.
England have also rewarded Keaton Jennings and Ben Duckett for their impressive domestic form this season. Jennings was the leading run scorer in Division One with 1,233 runs at 72.52 for Lancashire, while Duckett struck 1,012 runs at 72.28 for Nottinghamshire.
The pair are contenders to replace the axed Alex Lees at the top of the order and Jennings would appear to be the most logical pick, given he has two Test centuries in the subcontinent, averages 44.40 in ten innings in India and Sri Lanka and Duckett has been at his best at number three.
Both are good players of spin and Duckett impressed in the T20Is against Pakistan, with his attacking use of the sweep and reverse sweep highly effective against the spinners and something which will be actively encouraged by Stokes and McCullum.
England's selection of seamers is also interesting, with just four frontline fast bowlers making the squad. Stuart Broad will miss the tour due to paternity leave, with England opting for James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Jamie Overton in his absence.
Wood, back hitting speeds of up to 97mph after a six-month lay-off due to an elbow injury, should star in Pakistan, while the guile of Anderson, height and control of Robinson and pace and bounce of Overton could also prove effective.
Matthew Potts can count himself unlucky to have missed out after a strong debut summer, but the fact England have only picked four seamers appears to suggest they will only select two for each Test, with Stokes providing support along with Leach and either Livingstone or Jacks.
It would be an interesting approach, given Pakistan is known for producing flat surfaces. The move would lengthen England's batting significantly, something which could prove key, but also risks their seamers breaking down should they be forced to bowl a lot of overs.
Anderson is now 40, Wood has just returned from the latest in a long list of injury problems and both Robinson and Overton have had fitness issues this year. Like almost everything England have tried since Stokes and McCullum have taken charge, there is a possibility it could all go horribly wrong, but that is the beauty of Bazball.
It is full of risk and excitement and born out of a desire to win. No matter what happens in Pakistan, Bazball's first overseas test will be a fascinating one.
