England’s management is well known for its loyalty towards players — rightly believing they will perform better when they feel supported — but another marked feature of the regime has been its ruthless discarding of those who do not meet requirements. When you’re out, you’re out.
Several players have found this to their cost. Ollie Robinson, a bowler with an impressive Test record, has not played for England since being dropped after a tour to India 18 months ago over concerns about his fitness and work ethic. There was improvement, but no recall.
Jack Leach was England’s No1 spinner two years ago. Then he was usurped by Shoaib Bashir. This summer, it emerged that he was no longer even second in line as Liam Dawson was chosen in preference to him when a replacement for the injured Bashir was needed.
Robinson has not played for England since February last year but Ahmed is part the white-ball sides next month
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Dawson, in fact, provides a rare case of someone who has earned a recall. After more than 2½ years out, he featured in both T20s and Tests this summer. That he so singularly struggled to make an impact in the Old Trafford Test, though, may confirm in the minds of the head coach Brendon McCullum and Rob Key, the England managing director, that they should stick with their first instincts. They will surely look beyond Leach and Dawson for Bashir’s next understudy.
Similarly, it has been odd to watch Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone winning matches in the Hundred — with Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix, respectively — and remember that Curran, the leading all-rounder in the competition, last appeared for England in any format in November 2024, and Livingstone in March this year. Neither is in the squads to play South Africa and Ireland next month.
Curran, 27, has been devastated by his omission, saying that he feared he did not “fit the mould” of what England wanted and that “it might not be an ability thing”. At the start of the summer, he met McCullum and had conversations “about where he sees me”.
Dawson has featured in T20 and Test matches for England this summer after an absence of 2½ years
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He has been told that England view his future more as a batsman, rather than in the all-round role he fulfils in franchise cricket. They want him batting high in the top six in domestic cricket to develop accordingly, something that is now happening. “I know I’ll get back in,” Curran said recently.
Whether he will remains to be seen. On the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Key was non-committal on Curran and Livingstone. “They’re certainly not out of it, but no one is,” he said. “That top seven in white-ball cricket is a pretty stable side, so it’s for those guys to force their way in.”
Livingstone complains that he has heard nothing since he was told in May that he was being dropped, adding: “I don’t know where I stand.” Key gave that argument short shrift: “I don’t know if he’s got a phone, if he’s allowed to ring. He’s 32 years of age. It’s not hard.” Given his age, and the many opportunities he has already had, Livingstone’s fate may well be sealed.
Curran has been impressive with bat and ball for Oval Invincibles in this year’s Hundred
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Key said Livingstone needed to be more consistent but McCullum has used precisely the opposite logic to justify the faith shown in Zak Crawley as a Test opener, saying he would “never be a consistent type of cricketer”.
Jonny Bairstow, not seen in an England shirt since last year’s T20 World Cup, reportedly received encouragement from McCullum when he headed off to join Mumbai Indians for the IPL play-offs this year, which suggested he remained in England’s thoughts. However, despite Bairstow riding high among the Hundred’s top runscorers, it is hard to believe there is any way back for him in any format.
The desire to bolster the confidence of players means that no one seems to be in the business of telling anyone: “Mate, it’s over.”
Livingstone has been a standout performer for the Phoenix but the England door looks to be closed
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In reality, new favourites emerge, and when the sun shines on them it can feel very cold for everyone else. When Jacob Bethell was chosen for the deciding Test against India at The Oval and — predictably, enough given his lack of match practice — failed in both innings, the reasonable thing to do might have been to send him back to play the last three rounds of championship cricket in an effort to rediscover his touch.
Instead, England have not only picked him for next month’s white-ball matches but made him captain against Ireland. Bethell’s captaincy experience amounts to leading England Under-19. By contrast, Curran has captained teams at the IPL and has just guided Surrey into the Vitality Blast quarter-finals. Livingstone captained England in the Caribbean last winter and leads the Phoenix. They were the future once, now it’s Bethell.
Bairstow, Curran, Livingstone and Leach are all set to have their England contracts terminated next month. England have drawn on 60 players across all formats since June 1, 2022 (36 of them in Tests). Some have retired. Theoretically most remain in contention but in practice many will never be seen again.
State of the England squad
All-rounders Problems loom in the Test arena with age and fitness issues catching up with Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes. There are no obvious successors. Bethell, a batsman and occasional spinner, filled in for Stokes in the Oval Test against India. Rehan Ahmed, who has scored 1,202 runs and taken 38 wickets in all competitions this season, is another rising star who was first chosen by England for his leg spin but could return through weight of runs. Curran may come again as a batsman who bowls.
Batsmen Ben Duckett and Crawley have the opening positions sewn up in the Test side, and with the middle order also firmly settled, despite regular speculation about Ollie Pope’s place, it is hard to see this changing before next summer. The selectors will not be swayed by the County Championship form of Haseeb Hameed (1,108 runs with an average of 79), Dom Sibley (1,075 at 67) or Dan Lawrence (726 at 66). The highly rated Ben McKinney has not topped 35 in 13 innings since an early-season century for Durham. Bethell (43 runs in four first-class innings) will go to Australia as the reserve batsman.
Hameed is the top scorer in County Championship Division One but is unlikely to add to his ten England caps
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Wicketkeepers Jamie Smith has laid decisive claim to the Test job and Jos Buttler and Phil Salt should cover all eventualities in the white-ball sides. England’s choice of reserve wicketkeeper for the Test team remains a point of conjecture; if Smith was injured they could ask Pope to keep and bring in Bethell as a batsman, as they did in New Zealand. But Jordan Cox has had a fine season and could be taken to Australia as the back-up rather than James Rew, who took Cox’s place in the squad for the Zimbabwe Test when he was injured. Whatever, Bairstow and Ben Foakes will remain in the wilderness.
Spin bowlers This is England’s weakest area in red-ball cricket. Bashir is a fine prospect but a work in progress, Leach and Dawson’s limitations are well documented and they are probably finished. Who goes to the Ashes as second spinner is unclear, but Ahmed is emerging as a credible option. England may not field a spinner in every Test in any case. Ahmed, Dawson, Adil Rashid and Tom Hartley have all been picked for next month’s white-ball series against South Africa and Ireland.
Pace bowlers Apart from Robinson, fast bowlers selected under the present regime who may not be seen again include Chris Jordan, Reece Topley, Josh Hull (a wild-card Test pick against Sri Lanka at The Oval in 2024 who has since been described by Key as being two or three years off being ready), and Sam Cook, after an underwhelming debut Test against Zimbabwe. Jamie Overton has emerged as a surprise favourite across all formats while Sonny Baker is set to debut in the ODIs against South Africa.