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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Ten players England could call up for the West Indies tour after their Ashes humiliation

England 's 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes may prove to be the end of the road for several players, with a number of changes expected ahead of their next Test series against the West Indies.

There has been plenty of criticism of county cricket in the wake of the Ashes, with England captain Joe Root saying players that succeed in the Test team are doing so "in spite of county cricket, not because of county cricket".

However, there are a number of players in county cricket that could break into the England squad and Mirror Sport has taken a look at ten who could feature in the Caribbean.

Alex Lees

Alex Lees captained the England Lions in Australia and could earn a call-up to the senior side (Mark Fletcher/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The 28-year-old is in line to earn a call-up for the West Indies series, having captained the England Lions in Australia and successfully rebuilding his career at Durham after falling out of favour at Yorkshire.

Since permanently joining Durham in 2019, Lees has averaged 37.45, 48.25 and 39.06 in consecutive first-class seasons and the likes of Ian Botham and Nasser Hussain have named him as a player England should be considering.

Sam Robson

Dropped after just seven Tests back in 2014 with a record of 336 runs at 30.54 and one century, England would have loved to have an opener produce similar numbers in the Ashes.

Eight years on from his first go as a Test cricketer, Robson is significantly more experienced and has just enjoyed an outstanding County Championship season which saw him score 1,047 runs at 40.26 for Middlesex.

Josh Bohannon

Josh Bohannon scored 853 runs at 53.31 in last year's County Championship (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Rewarded with an England Lions call-up after scoring 853 runs at an average of 53.31 in last year's County Championship, Bohannon is a gutsy middle-order batter who has an impressive career average of 43.97.

The 24-year-old bats at number four for Lancashire and has been namechecked by former England coach Paul Farbrace as a standout talent who "watch[es] the ball carefully, play[s] under his eyes and seem[s] to have a good temperament".

Liam Livingstone

Liam Livingstone is a key part of England's white ball setup but he also harbours ambitions of playing Test cricket (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Although he may not have the most impressive recent record in first-class cricket, Livingstone is now an accomplished international and retains a first-class average of almost 40.

Despite his exploits in white-ball cricket, Livingstone remains keen to play Test cricket and his ability to dominate bowling attacks has seen the likes of Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen and David Lloyd champion his cause.

Ben Foakes

Ben Foakes is widely considered to be the best pure wicketkeeper in England (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Having only kept wicket for England in the subcontinent in each of his eight Test appearances, Foakes is widely considered to be the best pure gloveman in English cricket right now.

Foakes has a higher average and more centuries than Jos Buttler in an identical number of first-class matches, plus a Test century on debut in Sri Lanka.

He must play against the West Indies.

James Bracey

James Bracey made his Test debut last year against New Zealand (Getty Images)

Handed his Test debut against New Zealand after Buttler's IPL commitments saw him rested and a freak injury to Foakes ruled him out, Bracey struggled both with the bat and behind the stumps.

However, he remains in England's thinking, scoring an impressive hundred for the Lions against Australia and making 715 at an average of 37.63 for Gloucestershire in last year's County Championship.

Saqib Mahmood

Saqib Mahmood is yet to make his Test debut, but was part of the England squad for the recent series against India (Getty Images)

Unlucky to have missed out on a spot in England's Ashes squad, Mahmood can provide genuine pace, swing and reverse swing.

The 24-year-old was called up as an injury replacement for Stuart Broad in the recent Test series against India and, with the likes of Jofra Archer and Olly Stone still out injured, he is surely in line for a debut in the Caribbean.

Liam Norwell

Liam Norwell picked up a five wicket haul for the England Lions against Australia A (PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Having picked up 54 wickets at an average of 17.85 to help Warwickshire win the County Championship and the Bob Willis Trophy last year, Norwell earned himself a spot in the England Lions squad that toured Australia.

And the 30-year-old made the most of his opportunity, picking up 5-58 against Australia A to end the tour as the most impressive seamer in the Lions set-up.

Matt Parkinson

Matt Parkinson boasts an impressive first-class record, having picked up 102 wickets at 23.35a (Action Images via Reuters)

Having picked up 36 wickets at an average of 20.55 in last year's County Championship and able to boast a career record of 102 wickets at 23.35, the leg-spinner is an outstanding candidate should England decide to move on from Jack Leach.

Warne is a big admirer of Parkinson and the 25-year-old's ability to spin the ball a long way should prove a dangerous weapon in Test cricket.

Callum Parkinson

Simon Harmer was the only spinner to take more County Championship wickets than Callum Parkinson last year (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Although he may be the less acclaimed of the Parkinson twins, Callum has a solid first-class record and was the second leading wicket-taker among spinners in last year's County Championship with 50 scalps at 29.04 - only Essex's Simon Harmer took more.

Despite concerns about the lack of opportunities some counties afford spinners due to conditions and the time of year games are played, Parkinson featured in all but one game for Leicestershire last year and took three five-wicket hauls.

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