MARK BUTCHER
Not for the first time, England face a wicketkeeping conundrum as they prepare for the start of the Test summer. Ben Foakes took the gloves in India but he’s probably down the pecking order when it comes to picking a side outside of the subcontinent, so it might be a case of returning to Jonny Bairstow for the first Test of the summer against West Indies. Having only recovered from a serious injury shortly before last summer’s Ashes, Bairstow didn’t look fit enough to keep wicket and his performances suffered as a result. A year on, his fitness shouldn’t be a problem, so in a sense that would be the easiest solution, particularly in terms of balancing the side.
The selectors might be tempted to look at new options though, with several keeper-batters mounting strong cases for selection.
Chief among them is Ollie Robinson. The Durham keeper has been in incredible form in the County Championship, scoring 744 runs at an average of 83 so far this summer. His style of play – his strike rate is 87 in red-ball cricket this season – fits perfectly with the Bazball ethos and he gave the selectors a hefty nudge with a blistering 198 from 209 balls at Chelmsford last week. He’s also a very competent wicketkeeper.
There’s also Jamie Smith at Surrey, who’s very popular with the England hierarchy for similar reasons to Robinson, though his keeping perhaps isn’t at the same level yet. And then there’s Phil Salt, who’s starred for England at the T20 World Cup. He’s yet to play a Championship match this season due to his IPL and international commitments but he has a very decent red-ball record over the last two seasons – averaging 43 in that time – and has expressed a strong desire to play Test cricket.
It’s a very tough call and there are no easy answers. I’ve always held the belief that Bairstow is at his best when he plays as a specialist batter, as we saw during his sensational summer of 2022. My view is that if Jonny plays, he plays as a batter, and you pick somebody else to keep wicket. The issue for him is that the top six looks fairly settled.
Bairstow turns 35 in September and sooner rather than later the selectors will need to make a call on his future. If they do give him the gloves this summer, there’s every chance he will do well against
West Indies and Sri Lanka, and then you’re left in a situation where you’ve gone another summer without trying out the new kids on the block. If Bairstow’s form then deserts him, or he suffers an injury, you’re potentially faced with a situation where you’re scrabbling around for a replacement keeper with zero Test cricket under their belt on the eve of an Ashes series, which is less than ideal.
Robinson’s style of play fits perfectly with the Bazball ethos and he gave the selectors a hefty nudge with a blistering 198 from 209 balls at Chelmsford
Rightly or wrongly, I think the conversation has moved on from Foakes. I’m a big fan of his – everyone is a fan of his keeping – and when he’s had a run in the team in series outside the subcontinent, he has done a good job with the bat, offering some ballast to the lower-order. But if you’re not contributing big runs, and not scoring runs quickly, you pretty much rule yourself out of selection when it comes to this England side. If there are more aggressive options – and they have plenty at their disposal – that is the way they are likely to go.
Given the uncertainty around Ben Stokes’ role as an all-rounder, it’s important they have a keeper who is capable of scoring hundreds and doing it relatively quickly, while also offering a safe pair of hands.
If they decide to go with one of the uncapped guys this summer, they will be given time to bed in. They will quickly understand the difference in scrutiny and the greater concentration required in Test cricket, and that in turn will elevate their keeping skills, as we’ve seen in the past with Matt Prior – who averaged 40 in Test cricket and started off as a shaky wicketkeeper before becoming a very good one – and Bairstow himself.
Mark Butcher features every week on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
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