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England travel to the West Indies in March and before even stepping out onto the tarmac, the headlines are already writing themselves.
Under the interim stewardship of Sir Andrew Strauss as Director of Cricket and Paul Collingwood as Interim Head Coach, England have rung the changes, dramatically axing two of their greatest ever bowlers to play Test Cricket ahead of the three-match series.
The absence of Stuart Broad and James Anderson will see England take to the field in the Caribbean without either bowler appearing for the first time since 2004 and it will be a stern test doing so, considering England have not won a Test series in the West Indies since that aforementioned tour.
Given that England have now entered a new Ashes-cycle following their disastrous 4-0 defeat this winter, the age-old debate as to whether prioritising the future is the right plan, even if it is to the detriment of the here-and-now has re-emerged.
Time and time again England have tried to look beyond their two-record wicket-takers, yet despite both Anderson and Broad approaching their twighlight years, they continue to demonstrate their abilities and value at the highest level.
In the last Ashes series, 39-year-old Anderson ended with the best average of all the English bowlers, 23.37, whilst 35-year-old Broad was one of only two English bowlers to take a five-wicket haul.
With Collingwood having to cope without his two figurehead bowlers, he will look two a number of new faces to provide the impetus and skill to earn much-needed World Test Championship points.
In spite of the most notable changes occurring in the bowling department, the batting group has also seen a large overhaul with Strauss choosing to move on from England’s top three that began the Ashes just a few months earlier.
With Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed being shown the exit door it means another new opening partnership will be put under the microscope.
Since Strauss himself retired in August 2012, just under ten years ago, England have gone through a phenomenal total of 23 pairings. The foundation at the top of the order has clearly not been working and new personnel is the order of the day.
It may well be a case of the captain, Joe Root, moving up to an unfavoured number three position, given that Dawid Malan has fallen out of selection to the point of not even making the plane.
Under Root’s stewardship, his side have only three times scored 300 or above in the last ten Test matches, which makes stark reading and is a clear indicator of why the management chose to depart with the previous coaching setup.
Selected amongst the 16-man-squad are four individuals that are yet to make their Test debuts, all of which are likely to be given the chance to impress. Below is a look into those hoping to receive a maiden cap.
Alex Lees
Another English opener is set to make his debut on March 8th after the 28-year-old enjoyed a stellar 2021 County season, performing week-in, week-out for Durham, amassing a total of 625 runs at 39.06.
In the last ten years of County Cricket, Lees has averaged 40+ in four of these campaigns, with only Sir Alastair Cook and former incumbent Burns doing so on more occasions.
It is also worth noting that the left-hander has been on the radar of selectors for a number of years after first receiving a Lions call-up in 2013, and most recently captaining the side on their recent trip to Australia this winter.
Compared to Burns, Lees has a far less idiosyncratic setup, relying on a fairly neutral base before turning his head to check where his bat is located aerially.
For Lees to maintain his spot for future tours and summers to come, hitting the ground running in a transforming team will provide good faith amongst the selectors’ committee.
He arrives in the Caribbean all but certain to play every Test match, with England taking no reserve opener and as he finds his feet in international cricket with no obvious competitor selected to breathe down his neck, it appears he will be favoured until the home summer begins, at least.
Saqib Mahmood
After a pretty torrid T20I series against the West Indies earlier this month, where at one point the Lancastrian bowled seven successive deliveries that cleared the rope, it is back to the more bread-and-butter area of dominance for the 24-year-old, capable of delivering the cherry at over 90 miles per hour on a constant basis.
The tall and slingy bowler has made a name for himself around the county circuit, claiming 28 scalps in 2021 at 23.89 and it is his ability to garner late swing that has left the selectors purring.
When the red ball starts to age and passes the 40-over mark Mahmood can offer a different threat with his angle of release different to anything in recent years.
Coming from Pakistani heritage and accomplishing a skill that Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis both used to great effect, it is no surprise that the comparisons have been made during his county career to date.
In the 2021 Roses match at Old Trafford he terrorised the Yorkshire batting lineup to pick up his maiden first-class five-for.
Having already received international honours in the white-ball forms of the game, representing his nation on 19 occasions, it seems highly likely that Mahmood too will be finally earning his reward at the highest level in Antigua.
Matthew Fisher
Fisher was once interviewed in 2013 for Sky Sports after breaking into the Yorkshire limited-overs ranks as a fresh-faced 15-year-old and was asked about what lies ahead for himself and his career.
Given the fact that he was allowed to skip a French oral GCSE exam to play, little would he have known he would have had to wait nine years for his chance to shine.
Whilst he may be only 24, Fisher has already suffered his fair share of injuries throughout his career, but whenever he has featured, he often appears not far from the highest mark.
Drawing comparisons to Australia’s Josh Hazelwood for his miserly line and length, the young seamer is more adept at finding seam movement rather than swing, yet, his ability to put the ball in the right areas was more than enough during the 2021 County Championship, where Fisher collected 20 wickets at 19.65 from his five matches. If you go back a further season to the curtailed 2020 campaign he took 12 wickets @ 20.53 also.
It may well be that out of the four touring for the first time, Fisher is the unlucky one shepherding the drinks in the Caribbean.
Matt Parkinson
For a long time, the call has been in place, led by Shane Warne particularly, for the Lancastrian to be given his chance in the longest format.
His stats speak for themselves, taking 36 wickets at 20.55 last summer and 102 wickets at 23.35 apiece since debuting. As a leg spinner playing in England, to be able to take wickets in early April on green-seaming pitches is practically phenomenal.
In an age where coaches want players to be able to offer resistance with the bat no matter their role, Parkinson is as much of a number eleven as they come. Ahead of the Ashes, it was suggested that it was a straight toss-up between himself and Dom Bess for the backup spinner’s role, with Bess coming out on top due to batting prowess in reserve.
Almost a throwback leg spinner, given how the 25-year-old prioritises drift and fierce turn-over speed, he has played nine times in limited-overs but was perceived in previous years to deliver too slowly for Tests, meaning the batters can hold deep in the crease and play with ease, but again Warne has leapt to his defences and quashed these suggestions.
From previous Tests played in Antigua, there is no necessity to play two spinners meaning England are likely to decide whether they choose to blood Parkinson from the off or stick with Jack Leach, who was used woefully by his Captain in the Ashes and does not appear to be completely trusted by the hierarchy.
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