There always seems to be one man under pressure in England’s batting lineup and consensus over the winter seemed to be that Jacob Bethell’s emergence had put Ollie Pope’s place at risk.Pope has clung on to his placefor the start of the India series and my view is that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum should be very careful before they mess with what is probably the most settled top six of any Test side in the world at the moment.
There was speculation about both Pope and Zak Crawley beforethey scored centuriesin last month’s game against Zimbabwe, but that performance should have secured their spots for this series at least. Bethell is a huge talent and some really top cricketers have spoken very highly about his performances and potential – clearly his time will come.He was impressive in New Zealandover the winter and since then we’ve seen exhilarating glimpses of his ability in shorter formats.
Who knows what lies ahead for him but in considering his position now I think back to the visit of West Indies in 1991 when they had an emerging left-handed batter in their squad by the name of Brian Lara. Though people were already hugely excited by him Lara spent the entire series as 12th man before coming into the side the following year, and while the rest of Bethell’s career might not live up to that of the brilliant Trinidadian, I can see its next stage following Lara’s. My instinct is that England are unlikely to shuffle the pack for a while. With no-one currently struggling for form there is a lot to be said for continuity – I’m sure India wouldn’t mind having a bit more of it.
The last time they arrived for the start of a new Test series they had Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in their team, and England Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad in theirs. Four giants of the Test game, and now they have all gone. If England have already had some time to rebuild after the loss of their two great seamers, India are now going through a changing of the guard, a subplot which adds to the intrigue around what I think will be an enthralling series.
India have a combination of anew Test captain in Shubman Gilland an experienced campaigner as a coach in Gautam Gambhir, who is known for being a tough, demanding, competitive guy, and very proud to represent his country. We know to an extent what to expect from England, but for all that India still have a squad packed with established names, there remains the thrill of the unknown.
I was working for the BBC the last time they played a Test here, the final game of the aborted 2021 Test series which was rearranged for Edgbaston the following summer.That was a thriller: there was a point when it looked like India were in the ascendancy as they piled on the runs in the third innings but then a couple of poor shots gave England a way back in. They still had to chase 378, but Zak Crawley played one of his more mature, orthodox innings to help lay the foundations, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow both scored centuries and they ended up knocking off the runs with ease. I’m sure some members of England’s current dressing room will have thought back to that game, and it might be a bit of a blueprint for the way they want to go about things.
When I was working with the England side we tended to play in very traditional English conditions, fairly green surfaces with a lot of lateral movement, swing and nip off the seam, and we relied on Anderson and Broad to make the most of it. That made us a real handful at home, and forced overseas teams to adjust their methods. Under McCullum and Stokes we have seen flat, dry wickets where the batters can really look to dominate, and England then rely on Stokes’s ingenuity in the field to conjure up 20 wickets and win the game. That 2022 match showed that England can beat a top-class India side on a flat, dry pitch.
The current forecast suggests the series will start in hot conditions, which will test England’s bowlers. Brydon Carse has a chance to lead the attack in the first game while Josh Tongue keeps his place, both having impressed in their brief time in an England shirt. They are tall players with good pace and a challenging angle: their release point is slightly past the perpendicular, which is not something either would have been coached to do but which does make it more awkward for a batter to line up. Add to them a fully-fit Stokes contributing in short bursts and the known quality of Chris Woakes and England’s seam offering looks well rounded.
They have clearly had the Ashes on their minds for a while, and though this series is big enough to push those thoughts away for a few weeks it is perfect preparation for the intensity they will have to bring in the winter. I will be intrigued to see if by then Bethell has got another chance to prove he is more than an apprentice.