Former England skipper Michael Atherton feels England should be bold at selection for this week’s test against Kiwis and hand emerging young gun, Harry Brook, his debut while Brook has an excellent season in this year’s county championship.
Former England skipper Michael Atherton feels England should be bold at selection for this week’s test against Black Caps and hand emerging young gun, Harry Brook, his debut.
The make-up of England’s first XI for the first test of the home summer has been the reason for much guess over recent months and the new arrangement of Ben Stokes as a commander and Brendon McCullum as a mentor has given a couple of clues into the determination problem confronted with the vital World Test Championship face available to all.
England has just one test victory to their name over the last 12 months and needs to get some momentum quickly under the leadership of the Ben Stokes and coach to stay in contention for next year’s WTC final.
Stokes has already indicated veteran duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad are probably going to win a recall during the three-match series against New Zealand, while the new Test skipper has said he will bat at no. 6 and former captain Joe Root will return to his more preferred position at four.
Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow appear the two most likely to win spots in England’s top six, but Atherton thinks England should take a chance and select brook.
Brook has an excellent season in this year’s county championship and scored 840 runs for Yorkshire from nine innings while Atherton said this week’s first test against Kiwi at Lord’s is the perfect time for the youngster to be blooded.
“I’d have to pick him (Brook) ahead of Bairstow at No.5, just because of the form he is in. His first-class form has been exceptional,”
Atherton told Sky Sports.
“When you pick a young player is so important and he will never be in better form than this, never be more confident than this.
“He may go off the boil at some stage and then if you put him in the team it might be slightly unfortunate”.
While Atherton wants to see Brook win his first cap, he expects selectors to take a more cautious approach and stick with Bairstow at number 5.
“Bairstow was the success story of the winter,”
Atherton noted.
“He has been away in the IPL but in the Test stuff before that, he had two hundred, one in the West Indies and another at the end of the Ashes.
“It’s not straightforward and the slight conundrum has been created by the fact Stokes has said Root will go back to No.4 and they want Pope to have a dash at No.3.
“I don’t think England will slip Brook in that middle order but the temptation must be there – it must be so tempting to play a young man who is in that kind of form.”