When it was announced that the England and Wales Cricket Board would be streaming the inter-squad warm-up game, before the start of the three-match Test Series against the West Indies, I felt a swell of excitement.
Covid-19 is to thank for the cricket-sized-hole that has been left in my life since February. This match has provided a welcome return to sporting normality. As England’s squad faced-off under the titles of Team Ben Stokes and Team Jos Buttler. Was I certain this was going to provide remotely entertaining cricket? Absolutely not. Was I going to ensure I enjoyed it no matter the quality of competition? Absolutely.
It was clear how the game was going to pan out from the first two deliveries sent down by Lancashire’s Saqib Mahmood. The first delivery was an atrocious leg side delivery that trickled away for four wides. The second ball was a beauty, zipping past the outside edge of Rory Burns’ bat before thudding into the gloves of Ben Foakes behind the stumps.
There was a worry that this game could provide more questions than answers like these things tend to do for English cricket, but the last three days have been a pleasant surprise. Players whose positions are more or less cemented, performed perfectly adequately without setting the world ablaze whilst a few largely unknown quantities proved their avid county fans right.
One fairly emblematic example of this was Rory Burns who looked largely comfortable in scoring 21 and 35. Neither a largely impressive score but until his dismissal he looked wholly unperturbed in accumulating runs at his own pace – encouraging signs. His most likely opening partner, Dominic Sibley was dismissed in a manner which may trigger warning signs. Caught by Buttler trying to glance Jofra Archer down to fine leg, this is a possible weakness that West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel will be keen to exploit.
Two players largely out of favour this winter did not do much to complicate the selectors minds. Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach found themselves out of the team against South Africa and New Zealand and on the evidence of this game have not done enough to regain their places just yet. Leach was extremely unfortunate with injuries and illness whilst Bairstow suffered a huge loss of form over the last two years but make no mistake both players will be back.
There were two players who were largely unknown before this game except to supporters of Sussex and Gloucester. They will gladly tell anyone in earshot about how the injustices served out to those counties further from the public eye are only exacerbated by the non-selection of Ollie Robinson and, to a lesser extent, James Bracey.
Both players did no harm to their credentials, and since of course numbers don’t always tell the full story it is important to administer the ‘eye-test’ once in a while. Robinson and Bracey passed with flying colours. There is no better way to put it than they both looked like Test players, not out of place amongst the Stokes’ and Stuart Broad’s in the squad. Bracey looked confident and assured in his first innings 84 and showed the temperament and technique of a top-class player. Robinson showed that he is more than a country trundler who can swing the ball on a cloudy day. Putting his big frame to good use and putting the ball in Sir Geoffrey Boycott’s favourite corridor ball after ball. He reaped the rewards such persistence so often brings, dismissing the dangerous Moeen Ali and Lewis Gregory in quick succession.
A more adventurous set of selectors might be tempted to give Bracey a go at number four in the absence of Joe Root and he would be worth his place, but I can hardly blame them for sticking rather than twisting and keeping with Kent batsman Joe Denly.
Robinson did his chances no harm with his display and with conditions likely to suit him he isn’t a million miles away from contention. Working against him is England’s very strong bowling line-up with Broad and Anderson rested and ready to go as automatic selections. Archer, Curran, Woakes and Wood are all nearly impossible to leave out so Robinson’s success complicates matters further but put it this way, it will be nice to have this sort of selectorial headache for once.
The wicket-keeping department is more complicated than it should be after the appointment of Buttler as vice-captain. This suggests he will play the first test in the place of the better-rounded Foakes who would be my pick what with the poor form of Buttler, and Foakes’ superior Keeping skills.
The spin bowling department is a bit of a toss-up, pun not intended, between Dominic Bess and Moeen for me. Bess performed brilliantly with the ball in Moeen’s absence over the winter and bowled quite well on an unhelpful pitch on day two of this game. I would love a reinvigorated Moeen to have another go at batting line-ups around the world but at the same time on weight of previous form Bess is probably the first cab off the rank.
Overall, this warm-up game has been a fun way to ease both players and supporters into this bizarre summer of sport and has been an enjoyable watch along the way. With the introduction of some players that those who solely follow international cricket will not have seen and some of England’s first team stars the game can overall be considered a success.
If England are feeling adventurous there are a couple of choices here which can be backed up with a performance from this game but rest assured, we will be seeing some of these players in a future which, for the first time in a while, is extremely promising.
Either-way, I am counting down the hours until the first ball is bowled at 11 o’clock on Tuesday morning, and my summer begins in earnest.
By Michael Vince