ENGLAND'S BOWLING OPTIONS

With the thigh injury suffered by Mark Wood during the first Test, England will once again be looking to shuffle their bowling decks this summer.

In the opening Test of the summer, England’s seam attack included Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes. Over the course of the summer the makeup of this attack has changed somewhat. Anderson’s retirement brought Mark Wood into the side whilst Ben Stokes’ injury has opened a spot for the returning Matty Potts. With Wood’s injury though, England will look to bring in the 7th seam bowler of the season into the side.

Pace/seam bowlers do naturally get injuries and whilst James Anderson and Stuart Broad were outliers, England were always going to need a new arsenal of bowlers in the aftermath of their retirements. Injuries have accelerated this process though and new names are set to be blooded perhaps before management were ready to do so.

An additional factor in the selection policy has been an active tendency towards pace over swing in advance of the next Ashes series. You only need to look at the profiles of those who have been called up to the squad this summer: Dillon Pennington, Olly Stone and Gus Atkinson are all quick. These players have been called up, not because they're likely to take buckets of wickets at the Oval in September but that they’re more likely to get Steve Smith hopping at Perth in December next year.

Rightly or wrongly, Rob Key and Brendon McCullum’s selection policy is forward thinking to the Ashes and therefore there’s a keenness to give bowlers experience 18 months out at the top level. With injuries about, the selection committee have been granted an opportunity to look to additional options with Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Dillion Pennington, Jofra Archer all out of contention for the rest of the summer.

Olly Stone looks most likely to make the XI at Lord’s but young Josh Hull has also now been called up into the squad to push for a place.

With 2 more Tests left in the series with England 1-0 up - who are England likely to turn to the make up the bowling attack in the remaining games against Sri Lanka and also going forward.

Olly Stone

Patiently waiting on the sidelines, Olly Stone is likely to be the most obvious like-for-like replacement for Mark Wood.

A stop-start career for the promising Stone has meant that international experience has come in dribs and drabs with his most recent Test appearance coming over 3 years ago.

Back fit and fighting, the now 30 year old Stone has proved his worth and his ability at the top level having averaged under 20 in his previous 3 Tests. If he can keep fit and keep the pace high, he would seem to be a natural successor to Mark Wood.

Ollie Robinson

From Olly to Ollie - Robinson’s debut came in the same series as Olly Stone’s most recent Test appearance and in that time the Sussex seamer has racked up 20 appearances for England in Tests and at one stage appeared to be the heir apparent to Anderson.

Injuries in the last year meant that his appearances had been limited since the Ashes series last summer and a limp performance in Ranchi in March has meant that despite his incredible figures in Test cricket, Robinson is very much on the fringes of the squad.

The request from Rob Key was for consistency from Robinson, and from that respect he’s not done anything wrong - 30 wickets at 24 suggest he still has the skill set. 

The only question is - is medium-fast bowling on flat Australian pitches going to be suited to his bowling?

Sam Curran

Whilst not in the squad, a lot of people I speak to recently have asked the question ‘What happened to Sam Curran’s Test career?’ The answer is seemingly nothing.

His most recent Test match came 3 years ago against India and despite no clear indication of a lack of form, hasn’t had a look-in since McCullum and Stokes took over. He’s been consistently present in white ball sides and although a different discipline, there was never an indication of him specialising as a white ball player.

One major argument has been his lack of red ball practice but not doubt due to the fact that he hasn’t been in a red ball side in such a long time and the demand for him in franchise tournaments.

Curran’s pace is unlikely to frighten anyone but his skiddy, left arm action give him a distinct separation from the rest of the group and could much more easily fit into the Ben Stokes all rounder role.

Sam Cook

If this article had been written any time in the last 5 years, Sam Cook’s name would almost certainly be there.

Up to now, Cook’s name has often been mentioned in the same sentence as ‘what more does he have to do?’

With a First Class average of under 20, most sides round the world wouldn’t think twice about calling up the 27 year old, and yet Cook has regularly missed out.

Under the current regime, Cook’s speeds perhaps don’t meet those of Olly Stone’s but his ability in English conditions is almost unparalleled. 

The question is not whether he can do it, (we know he probably can) the question is could he take wickets in Australia?

Josh Hull

Josh Hull has been a revelation this season in the white ball game and despite only just turning 20, quickly caught the attention of the Manchester Originals who picked him up for this year’s edition of the Hundred.

On the back of his potential, Hull has become the immediate choice for the England side as he replaces Mark Wood in the England squad.

At 6 foot 7 and speeds approaching the 90 mile an hour mark, Hull represents potential far more than current ability at the moment.

The Leicestershire bowler averages close to 60 from his first 9 First Class games but took 5 wickets cheaply in Sri Lanka’s tour match against the England Lions at Worcester in the warm up to the current Test series.

Depending on how much caution to the wind, the selectors are willing to show - Josh Hull could be a left field pick to play either at Lord’s or the Oval.

Jamie Overton

Jamie Overton’s place in the side would be far more in alignment of the Sam Curran school of thought.

Where Overton and Curran diverge is Overton’s height and pace which would arguably make him far more of a threat on harder and bouncier tracks in Australia.

Unlike his brother Craig who has played more cricket for his country, Jamie offers the extra yard of pace that could still result in further Test appearances for the 30 year old.

Whilst Jamie Overton doesn’t regularly produce outstanding innings with the bat, he is more than comfortable in the role of all rounder and could produce respite for Stokes in the event that he would need to be rested.