Too Early?

The question on the minds of most England fans this morning was "what's going on?" and maybe a few "who's he?". In Andy Flower England have had a coach that has foregone the old 'one test and see' mentality of the past, and instead built his regime around consistency of selection and giving players a run of games to prove themselves. This morning however, Johnny Bairstow was discarded after a fairly innocuous series to be replaced by Chris Woakes, with Simon Kerrigan coming in to replace the injured Tim Bresnan.

Chris Woakes was a fairly surprising pick if not one that was always on the horizon; he has spent time with England in the ODI's and has been on their radar for some time, fitting in with the current trend of players that can 'bowl dry', and is a virtual like-for-like replacement for Tim Bresnan. His stats in First Class also justify his selection - an average of 37.67 with the bat and 25.48 with the ball represent those of a brilliant up and coming allrounder - why not play him here on a flat pitch and see how he handles it? It will be interesting to see how he handles it and will act as an indicator for the upcoming Ashes in Australia and his test future in general. Regardless of how he goes and has gone at the Oval, I am sure he will be around for a few years yet.

For me the odd pick was Simon Kerrigan. It was a marquee selection, a grand statement to Australia showing the depth in England's spinning department, and to me seemed a fairly harsh slap in the face to Monty Panesar - 'You could be playing here mate if you hadn't had a mental breakdown'. However, today's play has shown this may have been a step too far and too early for the young Lancashire spinner. He relishes the turning pitches at Old Trafford, but on decks that don't offer as much assistance he has been found wanting on a number of occasions, and has a propensity to lose his action and pitch the ball short as highlighted last year against a rampant Kevin Pietersen at Guildford, and in the recent Lions match at Northampton. There his tormentor was Shane Watson, and history repeated itself today when Watson dispatched Kerrigan for 28 in 2 overs, peppering the midwicket boundary with a multitude of pull shots. Comparisons may be drawn between him and former England player Chris Schofield who had similar problems with a low/absent front arm. Kerrigan seems a far greater player than Schofield and may well come out in the second innings when there's a bit more rough around and take five-for to win the game, but to me that will prove my point exactly - he currently needs help from the pitch or he's in trouble.

It's easy with hindsight to say the Kerrigan pick was a premature one and indeed that of Chris Woakes, but now that they have been made it should send a message to the England establishment - Work in progress. Like Johnny Bairstow and Steven Finn, these players need time to work out their games and be ready for the top level when it next comes, not thrown in at the deep-end and written off as it would appear James Taylor has been. And although it may seem like short-termism to play the likes of Chris Tremlett and Nick Compton, I feel giving them a year or two in the side whilst the younger class graduate is a far better ploy than playing promising talent after promising talent and never seeing the rewards. Hopefully Panesar will serve his penance with Essex and be recalled for the next Ashes series, so that Kerrigan can go out with the Lions and get some good game experience, the kind that you just don't get when you are carrying the drinks.