England’s Ashes Middle Order Batsmen

Prior to the start of the upcoming Ashes series down under, England have a well-established middle-order nevertheless there will always be players pushing for a spot in the test team. Various injuries or loss of form can strike aside at any time. Let’s look at some players who can step forward if required.

England's Current Middle Order

England’s middle-order has been fairly stable over the past year. There’s Test batsman of the year so far, Joe Root, Ben Stokes who is synonymous for his 135* against Australia to win the Headingley test for England in 2019, Surrey star, Ollie Pope, and Jos Butler batting at 7 donning the keeping gloves.

2021 has been the year of Joe Root. At the time of writing, he has scored 1,455 runs this calendar year with still three tests to go this year. This is an incredible feat from one of England’s greatest ever red-ball cricketers. The worrying stat for England fans is that Joe Root is the only English batsman to average over 40 since the last Ashes series in Australia.

England fans have been given a glimmer of hope in recent days with Ben Stokes posting a video of himself back in training after taking a mental health break from cricket since July and also taking a period of rest to recover from the broken finger he suffered in the first game of the 2021 edition of the IPL for Rajasthan Royals. Ben Stokes is without a doubt the next best English batsman behind Joe Root. Stokes is currently averaging just under 40, with ten test match hundreds to his name. England fans will have to wait and see if Stokes plays in the upcoming series with Chris Silverwood and Joe Root openly saying that the door is open to him playing in the first test, but they have left it up to Ben himself.

                                                                       

Of the current team, Ollie Pope is most at risk of missing out on the starting XI. He finished the county season in style with a score of 274 against Glamorgan in the last county game of the season for Surrey. This made him one of only 5 batters in the county championship to score a double hundred this season. However, there is a massive gap between the county championship and international cricket. This being said his international form has dropped off over the past few series after impressing in his first number of tours and living up to his much talked about talent. With Pope missing out of the New Zealand test series through injury he has struggled to find runs since coming back into the side for the India series. Pope has made starts since being back in the side, however needed scores of more significance to keep a player of Ben Stokes calibre from regaining his spot in the middle order.

Jos Butler has been a key figure in the England test team set up since Ed Smith recalled him to the side in 2018. Smith’s decision was proven to be a good one as Butler scored a hundred against India in the third test of the series. Butler’s spot in the team was cemented after being given the keeping gloves in place of Jonny Bairstow. This was after Bairstow was dropped following the 2019 Ashes series. However, even with Butler performing well with the bat, his glovework has often been called into question. Many English fans believe that Ben Foakes is the man to take the keeping gloves off Butler. Foakes is deemed one of the best keepers if not the best in the world right now. However, with the upcoming Ashes series lacking out and out leaders in the changing room, I believe England will stick with Butler and look for him to take a senior role in the test side this winter.

Young Essex star, Dan Lawrence is also on the plane out to Australia. He will most likely be the backup middle order option if covid or an injury is to hamper one of England’s current playing XI. Dan Lawrence started his test career off with a debut fifty at number six against Sri Lanka on a turning deck looking very convincing in the sub-continent.  Since his debut, Lawrence has shifted about the batting order. He struggled until he was moved by Chris Silverwood to number 7 in the fourth and, at the minute, final match of the England vs India series. Lawrence was able to score 46 and 50 runs whilst batting with the tail. Lawrence may be drafted in to play if Stokes doesn’t feel mentally fit to play the first game. This is due to Lawrence being able to offer some part-time spin which would allow England to play an extra seam bowler such as Craig Overton or Mark Wood.

Outsiders for this Winters Ashes tour

 

James Vince was one of England’s touring party the last time they toured Australia. Vince made 83 runs in the first ashes test last time out before struggling the rest of the tour. Vince has struggled playing for England in the past. It was a common joke that he always got a start and then found a way of getting out. Even with Vince averaging 44 in the county championship this summer, his test batting average of 24 may put him out of contention. Plus, England not deciding to include him in the Lions squad for their tour makes it even more evident that he will not be part of their plans at all this winter. At least in red-ball cricket that is.

Surrey have another bright star on the way up in the form of Jamie Smith. Jamie Smith was picked by England for the lion’s tour. This may give him an outside chance of getting
a test cap if England decide to send some of their touring squad home to give them a break from the bio bubble. He is my pick for an outside chance. Jamie Smith has been scoring hundreds at number six for Surrey this season. Smith averages over 40 this season for Surrey who trusted him to captain their side in the place of former South African International Hashim Amla. But as seen with many English batters before, there is a massive step up from County level to International level. An example is Essex batter, Tom Westley. Westley has been a consistent performer for Essex in red-ball cricket and when he got his call up for the English test side he didn’t even last a full English summer before getting dropped. However, Jamie Smith has all the attributes to succeed in international cricket with a solid technique and a fearless attitude. Maybe this Ashes series is a step too soon, but maybe the next ashes series back in England is a more likely target for him.

James Bracey is an interesting option having been selected to make his debut during the NZ series. In the summer he failed to impress, however, is one series enough time to prove oneself at international level? Having impressed for his county all season an argument could be made for giving him more time to adjust to the international level. From watching his performances against NZ his weaknesses appear to be in knowing where his off stump is against a swinging ball. A series in Australia won’t expose him to the swinging conditions that he faced against Trent Boult, Tim Southee et al. That being said, he will need to play the ball later and leave better if he is to have success in an Australian Ashes series.