Why England’s latest cricket squad should scare Zak Crawley ...Middle East

With Brendon McCullum now England’s coach across all formats there is a greater alignment between both the red and white-ball set-ups than there has been for many years.

It’s why when assessing the squad for the upcoming one-day series against the West Indies, the dropping of Phil Salt and inclusion of Jacob Bethell jumps off the page.

Bethell, ruled out of England’s horrendous Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan in February through injury, was always likely to be a part of both the ODI and T20 squads to take on the West Indies that were announced on Tuesday.

Yet the absence of Salt, whose diminishing top-order returns in ODI cricket over the winter cost him his place, makes it highly likely England now see Bethell as a viable opening option in 50-over cricket.

Having shone at No 3 during the Test series in New Zealand last winter, the 21-year-old may have run Ollie Pope close for a place in the XI that faces Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge next week had he not been involved in the Indian Premier League.

Bethell, who is expected to return from the IPL for the West Indies ODIs, might still be a rival to Pope ahead of the five-Test series against India later this summer.

But it now looks like he will also be a viable option to replace Zak Crawley if the misfiring opener’s form continues to flatline against Zimbabwe.

In Salt’s absence, the two contenders in England’s ODI squad to partner Ben Duckett at the top of the order against the Windies are Bethell and Tom Banton.

Yet given Banton has never batted higher than No 3 in the seven ODIs he has played and the buzz around Bethell, it seems obvious where England are going to go with this.

After all, they took a huge risk playing him at three in New Zealand – one place higher than he had ever batted in first-class cricket for Warwickshire – and that gamble paid off spectacularly as he struck three half-centuries in the series, including one knock of 96.

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As striking as his flamboyant shot-making was, what impressed most about the Barbados-born youngster was his solid defensive technique against the new ball.

Facing a fine New Zealand attack that Crawley was only able to average 8.66 against, Bethell looked eminently comfortable – no mean feat given he walked out to bat before the end of the fifth over in all six innings.

Indeed, he was pretty much doing the job of an opener in that series given the circumstances.

Now, he looks likely to get a chance to audition for the real thing in the three one-dayers against the West Indies as England look to keep their options open – both in terms of that potential opening spot and No 3 – ahead of two huge series against India and the Ashes in Australia this winter.

England like both Pope and Crawley and have shown throughout McCullum’s reign that they are loyal almost to a fault when it comes to backing players.

Pope, whose form suffered when he deputised as captain for the injured Ben Stokes in last summer’s series against Sri Lanka, has credit in the bank.

That credit was topped up further when he moved down the order in New Zealand to keep wicket after Jordan Cox, who was slated to play with first-choice keeper Jamie Smith on paternity leave, got injured at the start of the tour.

But his recent form – a Test average of 27.50 since the start of that Sri Lanka series and two 50-plus scores in seven innings for Surrey this summer – means he is under pressure.

Crawley is in a similar position, given his New Zealand nightmare has been prolonged by poor form for Kent this season, with his first-innings scores reading 1, 0, 1 and 6.

Both will be under pressure against Zimbabwe. If either fails, Bethell will be primed to step in.

Three other questions England’s squads throw up

Why is Jofra Archer missing the T20 series?

That is because he is likely to be playing for England Lions in a four-day match against India A at Northampton.

Keen to get the fast bowler back for the Test series against India, Archer, whose last Test came in early 2021, needs red-ball practice.

If he can get through this match without incident and perhaps play Sussex’s County Championship match at Durham, starting on 22 June, he could return for the second Test against India at Edgbaston.

What’s a 35-year-old Liam Dawson doing in the T20 squad?

His form holds up to scrutiny and despite his age, the spinning all-rounder is being given a shot to stake a claim for a place in England’s squad for the next T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka that starts in February.

Is there any way back for Liam Livingstone?

In a word, no. You can never say never but a player who captained England in the West Indies last November looks done at international level after failing consistently with bat and ball during the second leg of the winter in India and Pakistan.

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