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England and the West Indies will play eight
limited-overs matches in the Caribbean. Jos Buttler’s team is preparing for
another title defence, and while the ODI series will provide some new faces an
opportunity to revitalise the franchise, the five T20Is in the region that will
host the T20 World Cup next year serve as crucial staging posts. Here are some
crucial areas that Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott should concentrate on.
Is Will Jacks him?
Is there a man who, in the past year, has represented
England in all three formats and has not been awarded a central contract?
Although David Willey’s rejection garnered most of the attention, Jacks’
situation may become far more significant at selection meetings. Stake his
claim at the top of the order in both white-ball formats. One of the most
aggressive batters of England’s future generation, his commitment to attack was
exemplified by his dismissal, caught on the boundary for 94 off 88 balls, with
a maiden hundred in sight against Ireland in September.
His lack of a central contract might yet mean he opts
to fulfil an SA20 deal ahead of the chance to tour India early next year. The ECB’s decision “was disappointing
but it does give me freedom,” he told the Daily Mail earlier this week,
before adding: “The World Cup is a massive one so playing T20 cricket is
really important to me at the moment. The way the game and the world is at the
moment definitely suits me.”
The new Number 3?
The No. 3 on the ODI side may be even more important
than Jacks and Phil Salt, who will be trying to establish themselves as a
match-winning opening partnership in the tradition of Hales and Roy. Joe Root
expressed during the World Cup that he intended to still be in the team for the
following edition in four years, but a 312 run tournament total at 30.66
sparked the heretical idea that England could be better off without their most
traditionally skilled batsman, as in the T20 format. under the new age, Zak
Crawley is certain to be the first to bite, and there’s every possibility that
one of the Test team’s cleanest Bazballers may flourish under circumstances
that are less prone to expose technical issues.
Brydon Carse audition
Throughout England’s disastrous World Cup defence,
there were many errors made, but one of them may have been traced back to July
14, 2019. Liam Plunkett’s career as an international cricket player came to an
end then, but his reputation as a middle-overs wrecking ball has only gotten
stronger over time. Let’s introduce Brydon Carse. The Durham fast has seen his
career hampered by injuries and, at 28, has only appeared in 21 List A matches.
He has 40 wickets at 41.95 in 76 Twenty20 outings. While his career-bests in
both white-ball forms have come in international games, there have been flashes
of great pace and a Plunkett-esque approach during a handful of England
appearances spaced over two and a half years.
With David Willey retiring, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood
unlikely to do another four-year cycle, and Jofra Archer still in
injury-enforced limbo, this tour represents a chance for Carse, Gus Atkinson,
Matt Potts and the uncapped John Turner to prove that England’s seam stocks
still run deep.
Rehan Ahmed- the new successor?
Rehan Ahmed first gained recognition outside of his
profession as a teenage net bowler at Lord’s in the Caribbean two winters ago,
when he helped England finish second in the Under-19 World Cup. Since then, he
has written his name in history as the youngest player to earn senior England
caps in all three formats, including a five-for on his Test debut. He also
proved that he could manage any obstacle that came his way while still a
youngster. Following his impressive performance during the Hundred as the Southern
Braves’ wristspin option, he will probably have a better chance of playing in
the T20 World Cup the following year if he keeps up his current pace in the
shortest format.
Veteran’s game?
The T20I series against the West Indies will be more
important because England is about to defend (and they won’t be ashamed to use
that word again) a world crown. Dawid Malan is the only player who has been
explicitly dropped from England’s 2022 T20 World Cup-winning squad. Despite
this, there may still be a lot of competition for spots, with players like
Jacks, Rehan, Atkinson, and Ben Duckett among the first to try to establish
themselves in the absence of more seasoned players like Chris Jordan, Wood, Jonny
Bairstow, and Ben Stokes.
It should be everything to play for in Barbados,
Grenada, and Trinidad, where two-time winners West Indies are also attempting
to recover from consecutive T20 World Cup blowouts.