In some quarters this was a surprising show of continuity to a group of players who don't deserve such loyalty after their performances in Australia; it could also be down to a lack of viable options at this particular point. We seem to have a number of young, promising cricketers, but are they ready to be thrown into a side that are coming in for plenty of criticism from pundits and spectators alike.
Jake Ball, Tom Curran and Gary Ballance each have an abundance of talent and in Ballance's case, despite not getting an opportunity to showcase what he's capable of in the Ashes, all three are jettisoned out of the England squad and back into county cricket. This will give them the opportunity to work on their shortcomings out of the international cricket spotlight and press their cases with sheer weight of runs/wickets in the opening weeks of the Championship. Now out of the England squad there could be a chance of a late call-up to the England Lions tour of the Caribbean at the start of February should there be any drop-outs or additions allowed into the tour party.
The Lions may have a batting spot available after Lancashire's new captain for 2018, Liam Livingstone, won his first call-up to the full England squad to go to New Zealand; this was surely the most brow-raising inclusion replacing Ballance.
I was satisfied the selectors opted against the likes of Daniel Lawrence and Joe Clarke (Haseeb Hameed I'm sure will make a more convincing case for inclusion this year) for the final batting slot; Livingstone does offer the option of batting three, a position he bats for Lancashire, or coming in down the order where there is likely to be less pressure on him and more freedom for him to express himself with his impressive array of strokes. There's a hint of Jos Buttler about his strokeplay; his bat comes through quickly and he has the ability to break his wrists when finding the gaps, particularly through the offside.
Dare we think that the selectors do have an eye on the away tours next winter ? With Sri Lanka this side of Christmas and West Indies after, where spin is expected to play major parts, and Livingstone's positive and invariably successful approach against spin highlighting the value he could bring to a team that have struggled with any form of strategy against Australia's Nathan Lyon this winter.
He is generally recognised as a limited-overs specialist due to his catalogue of modern day shots and has already made his England T20 debut, but with over 800 Championship runs in 2017 he has shown a development and patience in his game and feels like he is more suited and more comfortable in the longer and purer form of the sport.
Another addition from outside the Ashes squad is Mark Wood. Once he was confirmed as being back to full fitness he was always going to be rushed back into the England squad. The 'samey' nature of England's attack has been obvious during the Ashes; Wood, when fully fit (and I think that part is absolutely crucial) is quicker, skiddier and can reverse the ball given the right conditions; he just offers something different. He should be let off the leash and allowed to just run in and bowl quick; we have enough early 80mph bowlers that stick it in a decent area, Wood may be expensive at times but providing he's carrying no niggles he should get up towards 90mph and be used in short bursts. Hopefully we may have an alternative style of pace bowler.
So whether it's due to a lack of options or a real belief that this side can turn around their fortunes and deserve another shot at Test cricket, it was a relatively low-key squad announcement and for me that's a better option than starting again with another handful of new recruits.
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