Another English cricket season is around the corner (some pre-season warm up fixtures are already taking place), and it is a biggie – the Aussies will be touring later this summer. My title comes from a question that talk sport radio put out on twitter this morning, and I am using this post to give it a detailed answer – the brief answer is the single word “no”.
ENGLAND’S RESOURCES
Since Ben Stokes took over the captaincy the England test team has fared exceedingly well, and the side’s unprecedented 3-0 sweep of the series in Pakistan plus the subsequent 1-1 draw in New Zealand (with the second game lost by one run, Stokes going uncompromisingly for the win rather than shut the game down to secure the series) were both achieved without Bairstow. The only real vacancy in the batting order is at the top, where Crawley’s returns continue to be utterly inadequate for a test match opening batter. Foakes, the current keeper, played important roles with the bat in several of the wins and is without any shadow of a doubt well clear of Bairstow as a keeper. The bowling is also strong, although the spin department remains a concern. Even there, with Rehan Ahmed showing positive signs in Pakistan, the trend is upwards.
BAIRSTOW IN TEST CRICKET
While in the period immediately before injury forced his withdrawal from the side Bairstow was in absolutely white hot form with the bat, his test history, which dates back to 2012, is of blowing hot and cold, with the latter more frequently the case. He is apparently not happy with the notion of opening in test cricket, though he does so in both forms of limited overs cricket. For me the middle order is strong with the question being who to leave out. One way to accommodate Bairstow is to have Stokes, who certainly has the technical wherewithal to do so move up to open the batting, creating a middle order slot for Bairstow (WG Rumblepants suggested this on twitter in response to the talk sport radio query). None of Pope, Root, Brook or Stokes are dispensable, and I regard the notion of dropping Foakes, already on the receiving end of scurvy treatment from England selectors since his international debut in 2018, as an outrage.
THE ENGLAND TEST SIDE GOING FORWARD
With the powerful batting outlined above, plus Foakes as keeper, a slew of fine seamers available, plus outright pacers in the form of Wood, Archer and possibly Stone in the wings, and Leach and Ahmed available to bowl spin, plus Will Jacks on the fringes as a batter who bowls spin on the side, and a few county players knocking on the doors (a good start to the season for Ben Compton would certainly force the selectors to sit up an take notice to name but one) the truth is that the England test side does not need to perform mental gymnastics to find a way to accommodate an ageing middle order batter with a history of inconsistency at the highest level – they would do better to move forwards without him.
PHOTOGRAPHS
To put it mildly the weather these last few days has been less than ideal for photography, but I do have a small gallery of recent captures to share…
aspiblog 
Much as I enjoy dear old Rumble on Twitter, the Stokes to suddenly, at 31 and after 91 Tests, switch to opening at Test level idea is a flight of fancy best disregarded on technique and temperament. Maybe Rumble was having one last deserved beer before the embargo.
An important season coming up for Ben Compton as the last season’s late dip in form could suggest he has been worked out. Hopefully not and it is just the case that no one can have a golden streak for ever, but the notion cannot be discounted until he gets another run of scores. I would say watch the progress of the Sussex pair, Haines and Orr, with the possibility that it is Orr that leapfrogs his (ever so slightly more senior partner) into the reckoning. Okay, even as a Sussex follower, I can see some of Orr’s big scores are fortuitous (his maiden ‘FC’ hundred came against a covid hit Kent third eleven, the ‘List A’ double ton against a question Somerset XI) but I think and hope he could be a talent in the making
Another factor to bear in mind is that YJB comes with an air of entitlement, as so many of this generation do. You get selected to play/keep/bat/bowl for England, you don’t have a divine right to do so. Pour encourager les autres is always unfair, but it might be timely for the selectors to make the point that it is they pick that the team, not the players, Twitter or Talk Sport and certainly not me.
Clive
Ali Orr is certainly a candidate for elevation as well. I agree that the Stokes to open suggestion stretches credulity somewhat, and I would much rather see a county opener elevated in place of the failed Crawley.