England are scheduled to face India and Australia in Tests this year.
The England Cricket Team is gearing up for an enormous year in the Test arena as they take on two of the toughest challenges in the game. They will be hosting India for a five-match Test series in June-July before the Ashes Down Under.
The England Test captain Ben Stokes and the head coach Brendon McCullum have done a good job in the last three years, but they are still far behind the top teams in the world. The pair has made some tough calls, like moving on from Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson. But they have also been too lenient on some of the players. The current form of Zak Crawley and other injury concerns mean there might be a few spots opening up.
The ongoing County Championship offers a good opportunity for players to get on the selection radar. Here we take a look at three youngsters who are pushing their case for a national call-up.
The Durham opening batter Ben McKinney has made rapid strides with consistent performances, and could be close to getting a call-up to the Test side. The 20-year-old batter has put his name in the hat for a possible Crawley replacement with a sensational century in the ongoing round of the County Championship. He scored a magnificent 153 against Warwickshire, helping his side get 387 in the first innings at Chester-le-Street.
In January, McKinney toured Australia with the England Lions side and had good success. He hit a superb 94 against CA XI at Brisbane, and registered a century versus Australia A at Sydney. When Durham toured Zimbabwe in March, he scored an unbeaten 80 in the second innings.
James Rew is a highly rated talent in English cricket, and he might not be far away from donning the international jersey. He was a key part of England’s run to the final in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. He has since made his mark in the domestic circuit.
Rew has amassed 2,457 runs in First Class cricket at an average of 43.87, including nine centuries. The 21-year-old made 153 in the first round of the championship against Worcestershire at Taunton. Somerset were in a spot of bother at 104/4 when Rew walked in. He then added 371 runs for the fifth wicket with Tom Banton.
Though the wicketkeeper bats in the lower middle order in FC cricket, he is a top-order batter in limited-overs cricket.
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Another wicketkeeper, the Essex batter Jordan Cox, is rated highly in the English circuit. Cox hit 117 in the first round of the County Championship against Surrey. He then scored 82 in the first innings of the ongoing contest against Nottinghamshire.
The 24-year-old has a pretty solid record in FC cricket, having amassed 3,393 runs at an average of 40.90. Cox has registered nine centuries and 20 half centuries, with the highest score of 238 not out.
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