By Three Lions
December 14 2020

Bairstow and Moeen Ali Recalled

England squad: Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Reserves: James Bracey (wk), Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.

So this is the England squad for the two test tour of Sri Lanka. Regulars Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are rested while Rory Burns is absent as his wife is expecting and Ollie Pope is out injured.

Crawley looks likely to move up to open with Sibley. Root will bat at 4 with Bairstow and Lawrence at 3 and 5 but which way round I don’t know.

Buttler will take the gloves and bat at 6 and that brings us on to the bowlers.

Two spinners or three spinners that is question. I think it is likely they will go for two and use the part time spin of Root, Lawrence and Sibley is required.

Dom Bess was the man in possession in the summer but has he done enough to keep his place? Will they pick Moeen Ali regardless of form to add depth to the batting? And if they do will they pick another off spinner in Bess or does that mean they will go with the left arm option of Leach.

With a Woakes or Sam Curran in the team then they don’t necessarily have to pick Moeen and could go with Bess and Leach.

That brings us on to the fast bowlers and I am assuming they will go with three but will any of them play both tests. I have a feeling they will split them up in to two groups of three and they will all just play the one test each.

The allrounders of Woakes and Curran will be split as will the quicks of Wood and Stone. That also means the same for Anderson and Broad as England look to manage their workloads to keep them going as long as possible.

That leaves Ben Foakes as the odd man out carrying the drinks barring injuries or illness. He has however proved to be a success in Sri Lanka in the past where he scored a ton and excelled with the gloves.

The reserve list looks interesting and contains three spinners including two leggies and Virdi from Surrey who has got wickets for fun since he burst on to the scene a couple of years ago.

Team for the first test:

Sibley

Crawley

Bairstow

Root

Lawrence

Buttler

Woakes

Bess

Leach

Wood

Anderson

Second Test:

Sibley

Crawley

Bairstow

Root

Lawrence

Buttler

Moeen Ali

Sam Curran

Broad

Leach
Stone

England Squad for Sri Lanka

Discussion started by England Cricket (IP Logged), 14/12/2020 19:15

England Cricket
14/12/2020 19:15

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

Reply Quote Report

Goto: Forum List•Message List•Search• Log In

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net