Time to bench Broad? England's selection conundrums for Sri Lanka

How will England adapt their selection to tough conditions in Sri Lanka? I pick my lineup for the first test on 6th November

Stuart Broad providing a visual metaphor of how the selectors must be feeling

While it is still over a month until the test series begins on the 6thNovember at Galle, England have a variety of selection conundrums before that first day arrives. Will Moeen Ali continue to bat at no. 3? Will Olly Stone make his debut? Finding the perfect balance for the challenging Sri Lankan pitches will likely be an almost impossible task.

It’s seems a typical England problem since Jonathan Trott’s retirement to have no specialist number 3 batsman, with the selectors somehow overlooking James Vince following a stellar county season and a strong record against spin. While Moeen put on a strong showing during the tour of India two years ago averaging over 40, I struggle to see him filling that role to a similar standard given his struggles against Nathan Lyon last Winter. I’d go controversial and bring Denly in at 3, with the added bonus being his nifty leg spin.

While batting shouldn’t be a problem with Adil Rashid lingering down at 9 and England’s raft of all-rounders, the key questions lie with the bowlers. While Stuart Broad is of course an England stalwart, his record in Asia in nothing short of dreadful. A bowling average of over 66 in Sri Lanka (albeit only two tests) is complimented by an average of 53.90 in India at a strike rate of 99. With Olly stone also touring, one would assume Broad is under pressure to keep his place. Having seen some of Stone this county season he looks the real deal against a Sri Lankan team that struggles against pace.

It may well be that Broad sacrifices his place to cater for a third spinner in Jack Leach. With Sri Lanka naming 5 spinners in their squad, and Stokes able to bowl seam alongside Anderson, playing 3 spinners with Denly’s part timers gives England a variety of spin options on pitches that will likely turn from day one.

It looks likely that Jennings will somehow keep his place, largely because Cook’s retirement leaves us with no other viable options, while Burns simply has to play given his county form. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Bayliss throw a curveball in by putting Denly or Ali in to open though.

The issue with my team is clearly the raft of number 6 batsmen that still remain, but I’d elevate Buttler to 5 and drop Bairstow down to 7. Ali appears to be too low to at 8 but I can’t see Stokes batting that low as I think he’ll be a key batsman during this series having shown some impressive technique against spin this summer.

To sum up, here’s my XI for the first test:

1. Burns

2. Jennings

3. Denly

4. Root

5. Buttler

6. Stokes

7. Bairstow

8. Ali

9. Rashid

10. Stone

11. Anderson

Until then, let’s hope we find some form in the ODI series…