England might have
levelled their Test series against Pakistan at Old Trafford but there's one
selection quandary they still to answer. Who do they get in for Ben Stokes in
the third Test at Birmingham?
Stokes suffered a
right calf injury during the second Test and that has ruled him out of the
remaining two Tests against Pakistan including this one at Birmingham. Online
cricket Bet tips The selectors have named an unchanged squad though,
which means the captain and coach have three options to choose from - Steven
Finn, Jake Ball and Adil Rashid - for his replacement.
So who has the best
chance of making it to the playing XI?
Neither of those three
is a like for like replacement for Stokes. Stokes is a lower-order batsman with
an average of 33.23, having hit three centuries and six fifties. His
medium-pace bowling has already seen him pick up 60 Test wickets from 25 games,
Live
Cricket Bet tips making him this format's genuine all-rounder.
Finn and Ball are frontline pace bowlers, while Rashid is a leggie who can hold
the bat in the shorter formats.
In fact, if England
are really looking to bolster their batting in the absence of Stokes, then
Rashid could be their best bet. Rashid is a frontline spinner in the shorter
format and while he has played just three Test matches, if the conditions
demand, he could make for a reasonable bowling option. And with an ODI batting
average of 24.5 and a first-class average of 35, his batting skills will never
be in doubt.
The problem arises in
case the pitch at Birmingham turns out to be a green one or a bouncy surface.
Can the English management then take that kind of a chance by going in with
just three seamers? They have already won a Test, the last one, playing three
seamers because Stoke's injury came quite in the second innings.
But if the management
does decide the pitch isn't suitable for spinners, then it boils down to a
toss-up between Finn and Ball.
Finn has the advantage
of experience but he has been lacking his rhythm and hence his confidence. Online
cricket bet tips He played in the first Test when James Anderson was
injured and was tipped to be the one to bite the dust for the second Test when
the stalwart came back. That's what happened.
However, Finn also has
the advantage of having played in the last Test that was played at Edgbaston
and he had gone to scalp eight wickets in the game. Live cricket bet tips That
Test, incidentally, was an Ashes Test and was also seeing Finn make a comeback
into the Test set-up, so there's something his memory could rely on to get back
to rhythm.
Ball's advantage is
his rawness and his ability to crank up the pace. Cricket Bet Tips That's
also his disadvantage, having played just one Test - the first one against
Pakistan at Lord's - and since then, he has picked up four wickets from four
List A and T20 games. That Ball has been selected to the squad means the
selectors have seen something in him but does he still get the nod over Finn?
Will be an interesting call and could lead to even more undermining of Finn's
confidence.
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