Deadlines are not what they were, although there may be some harrumphing in the office if I don’t get this there on time. In the wider world there have been some high-profile failures to meet deadlines and life goes on. Meanwhile there is an ICC directive that requires each nation competing in the Cricket World Cup to submit its preliminary squad by 23 April. But this is another soft deadline. Every country can make changes to its squad until 23 May. I suppose the system helps those who have to write player profiles of the 150 players who will be involved in the World Cup.
Ed Smith will be announcing England’s preliminary squad of 15 on Wednesday as well as the names of two other players who will be involved in the games against Ireland and Pakistan that precede the World Cup. This will be his first significant act in a summer which holds such huge expectations for English cricket.
The assumption is that everyone at the England and Wales Cricket Board is willing the side to victory – that is certainly the hope of The Spin – even though it may be mildly embarrassing in the wake of a thrilling England victory, which has captivated the nation, when the ECB confirms that the 50-over format of the game at which we excel has been relegated to development status. Our potential stars of the 2023 World Cup will not be playing any domestic 50-over cricket from 2020 onwards. Someone will be required to explain this state of affairs, a task no easier than justifying the poll tax (or, if I’m allowed to mention it, a no-deal Brexit – “Not to worry; it will all work out fine in the end. Just don’t ask me how”).
The anticipation is that there will be one name announced by Smith which has never appeared on an international scorecard for England, Jofra Archer. He has only just qualified to play for England since settling here from Barbados. Chris Jordan, his teammate and close friend, recommended him to Sussex and it is now possible that Archer may overtake Jordan in the pecking order.
Why is he so attractive to the selectors? Because he can be extraordinary. According to the CricViz database, he was the fastest bowler in county cricket last summer by a considerable margin. He is a brilliant fielder and has the capacity to hit the ball a long way. This winter he has excelled in the Big Bash and has had his moments in the IPL. So there is much to admire in the plus column. In the minus column is the notion that his late inclusion might disrupt the harmony of a very settled side … and he has never played an international match.
The predicament with Archer has a couple of interesting parallels. Back in 1991 Graeme Hick qualified for England and the universal assumption was that he would dominate in Test cricket just as he had for Worcestershire. He was selected as soon as he was available but it never quite happened. By contrast it is easy to forget the debate about whether to give Kevin Pietersen a Test debut against Australia at Lord’s in 2005. At the start of that series the choice was between him and the stalwart Graham Thorpe. Of course, they opted for Pietersen and seven weeks later it seemed the obvious thing to do. It was not quite such a straightforward decision at the time.
In 2019 the selectors will have a quick look at Archer in May and, following the Pietersen principle, if they like what they see, they will confirm him in the World Cup squad on 22 May. There is room for a wildcard in the squad. Bear in mind there is always scope for an injury replacement during the tournament, so it is necessary to have only one spare batsman, who is currently the formidable Alex Hales.
By the same token England probably do not require another spinning all-rounder in their squad in addition to Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Joe Root. So there might be space for Archer alongside the usual band of pace bowlers. This would be sad news for the south coast hopefuls Joe Denly and Liam Dawson. However, it might suit Denly better to be scoring runs for Kent in the Championship than running around in a yellow bib for seven weeks during the World Cup, which has already been his lot during his stay in the IPL. Remember that Denly was in England’s last Test team and there are half a dozen county batsmen eyeing his place.
Smith has been spied on the Championship circuit this spring and he will presumably spend more time there during the World Cup. It is early days but already some recent England players have posted big scores, albeit on surfaces that have not been as juicy as 12 months ago. Gary Ballance has been in the runs; so too has Dawid Malan. A source of greater excitement was the century by Haseeb Hameed at Lord’s after so long in the wilderness, though he has much consolidating to do. At least he is in the Lancashire side now.
Of the non-internationals Sam Northeast has prospered for Hampshire. And in a week when the extramural activities of some of our young cricketers have not shown the game in a good light it might be worth the selectors looking at the merits of Somerset’s impressive captain, Tom Abell. He was not required by the Lions in the winter but must now be worth considering at that level. After two matches his teammate Lewis Gregory has taken 14 wickets at 10 apiece. And if Archer ever has the chance to hold a red ball again, he will be in contention for Test cricket as well.
• This is an extract taken from the Spin, the Guardian’s weekly cricket email. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
