SWOT analysis of England’s squad for the first Test

• A SWOT analysis of England’s squad for the Southampton Test against West Indies.
• The English team is a pace-heavy one with a tad of inexperience in their top-order batting.

International cricket is finally set to resume on 8th July, 2020, after more than three months, when thehosts England take on West Indies in a 3-match Test series.

The West Indies have been in England for almost a month and will be keen to get on the field and compete against a strong English outfit. The three Tests will be played behind closed doors as part of precautions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

England will be without their regular Test skipper Joe Root for the Southampton Test as he will be attending the birth of his second child. In his absence, Ben Stokes will be leading England for the first time in Test cricket. England have left out the experienced duo of Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow from their 13-member squad for the first Test.

Here is the England squad for the first Test against West Indies:

Ben Stokes (Captain), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

In this article, we attempt to delve into the strengths and weaknesses of the England squad for the first Test.

A SWOT analysis of England’s team for the first Test against West Indies

# Strength – A hostile and well-balanced pace attack:

England have named a pace-heavy squad for the Southampton Test against West Indies, and the management will have the happy headache of selecting the final 11.

In James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England have two bowlers who are equally effective with the new ball as well as the old ball and will be a force to contend with for the West Indies batsmen.

The 37-year-old Anderson is 16 wickets short of becoming the first pace bowler to pick up 600 Test wickets as he will look to reach the milestone in the upcoming series against the West Indies. Stuart Broad too is 15 wickets shy of reaching 500 Test wickets and will be all geared up for the Test series.

Jofra Archer is almost a certainty to make it to the England playing-11 for the Southampton Test. Archer, with his raw pace and accuracy, has the potential of unsettling batsmen early in their innings and will be looking to rattle the young and inexperienced West Indies top-order batsmen.

The toss-up for the fourth pacer is likely to be between Mark Wood and Chris Woakes. Wood, like Archer, has the potential of bowling quick and has the knack of picking up wickets regularly. Woakes too is a handy bowler, especially in English conditions, and a handy batsman lower down the order.

Ben Stokes is likely to be the fifth bowling option for England in the Southampton Test. Stokes is a very useful bowling option for England and can pick up wickets against the run of play in Test cricket.

England, in all likelihood, will field a 5-man pace attack against West Indies at Southampton and have skillful and experienced pace bowlers to exploit the English conditions and trouble the West Indies batsmen.

# Weakness – Inexperienced batting unit and absence of key players

The absence of Joe Root at number four will be sorely felt by the English team. The likes of Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali too are not a part of the tean, and the burden of scoring runs at the top of the order will be on a young and inexperienced English top-order.

The likes of Burns, Crawley, Sibley, Denly, and Pope have played 15, 4, 6, 14 and 7 Tests respectively and have 4 Test centuries cumulatively among them. They will look to occupy the crease for long periods during the Test series and score heaps of runs to consolidate their places in the English team.

The players mentioned above are talented and are finding their feet in Test cricket, but their inexperience will be tested against a strong West Indies bowling outfit.

If the English top-order, which is the team’s only weakness, fires, England will dominate the Test series against West Indies and a 3-0 whitewash could be on the cards for the hosts.

# Opportunites – Ben Stokes to display his leadership skills and youngsters to consolidate their position in the Test team

Ben Stokes has impressed one and all with his all-round skills on the cricket field with the bat as well as the ball in Tests as well as limited-overs cricket. He is capable of changing the course of a match on his own and has proven to be a match-winner for England on several occasions.

The Southampton Test will provide the perfect platform for Stokes to display his leadership skills for the first time in Test cricket in the absence of Joe Root. Stokes will look to impress the management with his captaincy and make a case for himself as the next English skipper.

The series will also provide an opportunity for young English batsmen like Crawley, Pope and Sibley, who had a decent away Test series against South Africa last season, to replicate their performances in English conditions.

# Threat – A strong West Indies pace attack

West Indies have always known to field a potent pace attack, and the upcoming series against England will be no different. The pace bowling attack of West Indies is a dangerous one and may rattle the inexperienced English batting.

The likes of Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel have in the past tasted success against England, and the trio will look to replicate their performances in conditions that are likely to assist them.

Alzarri Joseph and Raymon Reifer too are young talented pacers who will look to make the most of their opportunities if they get a place in the playing-11.

At the outset, the English team seems to be the favourites going into the three-match Test series. But West Indies have troubled England in the recent past and will compete hard in the series.

Published 05 Jul 2020, 20:59 IST