How are England's Test contenders faring in the County Championship?

HUW TURBERVILL looks at how some of the contenders to play against New Zealand in June got on during the opening five rounds of the county season

Rory Burns (Surrey)         

Age: 30

Scores so far: 4, 74; 36; 8, 54; 80; 75

Five matches – 331 at 47.29

Surrey’s captain will be annoyed he has not converted at least one of his four half-centuries into three figures, but his stats are a fine return in the English spring, even if The Kia Oval can be as flat as a snooker table. He looked especially impressive against Hampshire’s Mohammad Abbas. He also passed 10,000 first-class runs. Burns has a fight on his hands to regain his Test spot with Zak Crawley, Dom Sibley and James Bracey also in the top-order frame, but like the latter, his left-handedness could be seen as a plus.

Dom Sibley (Warwickshire)

Age: 25

Scores so far: 29, 0*

Two matches – 29 at 29.00

A frustrating summer so far for Sibley, who fractured his finger trying to take a catch at slip. He showed his battling qualities in Sri Lanka and India, adapting and doing his best to survive in testing conditions, especially in the latter where he made 87 at Chennai. Like Burns, he has an unorthodox technique and has a lot to do before he can count on his place on the Ashes tour.

Zak Crawley (Kent)

Age: 23

Scores so far: 14, 19*; 1, 4; 60, 36; 33, 1; 90

Five matches – 258 at 32.25

Crawley has had a tricky time in a struggling Kent side. However, he had a decent match against Lancashire, with 96 runs in total, and his 90 against Yorkshire last week indicates he is back to his best. “I have high standards for myself, and I’ve definitely been below those so far this year,” he said after that knock. “I feel like I played well, but I was angry when I got out. I didn’t even want a hundred, I wanted a lot more than that.” No one doubts his talent and fluency (you don’t make 254 against Pakistan if you cannot play), but I hope he doesn’t try to force the pace too early in Tests again as he did at times in the subcontinent over the winter.

James Bracey (Gloucestershire)

Age: 24

Scores so far: 54, 14; 118, 83*; 65, 9, 27, 20; 75, 13

Five matches – 478 at 53.11

An excellent return by Bracey for the Championship high-fliers, with a brilliant match against Somerset (118 and 83 not out) the jewel in the crown. Let’s see what he can do against New Zealand – it’s time now, surely? After his 75 against Middlesex at Lord’s he said: “It's always good when you play on telly. It's a good chance to showcase what you have. I just need to keep churning out runs and put my name in the selector's minds.” He’s in there alright. Haseeb Hameed, 24, has also enjoyed a welcome return to form with scores of 111, 114 not out and 94, and nearly made my list, although I wouldn’t want to be labelled a romantic again. Keep it going.

^{Has Ben Foakes done enough to keep his place?}

Ollie Pope (Surrey)

Age: 23

Scores so far: 22, 0; 245; 22, 32; 131; 33

Five matches - 485 at 69.28

His two biggies catch the eye – 254 against Leicestershire and 131 versus Hampshire on the Oval road. You could be churlish and argue that he failed in the defeats to Gloucestershire and Middlesex, but I am not going to be. Despite his struggles in India, it would be a major surprise if the extremely talented Pope does not enjoy a long Test career.

Ben Foakes (Surrey)

Age: 28

Scores so far: 26, 133; 87; 11, 17; 7; 0

Two matches - 281 at 40.14

Started the season brilliantly, with a century against Gloucestershire, and he will keen to get back on track after a run of low scores. He is the incumbent of the Test keeping gloves and is widely acknowledged to be the best. Adam Gilchrist is one of his many fans. With so much cricket on, I’d retain him, and let Jos Buttler focus on white ball. Ed Smith was a big fan of Buttler, though, and you had the feeling that England wanted him in Australia this winter. It will be interesting to see how the cards fall now the tectonic plates have shifted.

Jack Leach (Somerset)

Age: 29

Five matches – 9 for 310 at 34.44

A steady return in unsuitable conditions for the Somerset slow-leftie. I’d be content to see him enjoy a run in the Test side now. His former county teammate Dom Bess is rebuilding his confidence at Yorkshire but enjoyed one super spell against Sussex (6 for 53). Overall he has 9 for 384. In that same match at Hove, the hosts’ Jack Carson shone; the Northern Irish offie is one to watch and his return this summer is impressive – 18 at 23.38. Joe Root has learnt he can bowl too, falling victim to him. Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson also continues to press his case, with a very presentable 19 wickets at 19.21 so far this summer, including that ball against Northants’ Adam Rossington. I’d expect his chance to come in Australia, though, rather than against New Zealand in early summer. 

^{Has Craig Overton done enough to secure a recall?}

Craig Overton (Somerset)

Age: 27

Five matches – 32 at 13.96; 211 at 35.16

Cor, Overton v Ollie Robinson is a beauty. It’s like Ovett v Coe. They have both been excellent: classic English-style seam and handy runs. Their fans get quite a sweat on when this head to head is debated. Of course, once Stuart Broad and James Anderson move on they could be in tandem, the foils to the quicker pace of Jofra Archer and Olly Stone.

Big-hearted Overton has shown a taste for long spells in Australia with the Lions in 2019/20 and could make for a great stock bowler this winter. One thing that may stack in his favour this summer – he has already had a taste of Test cricket. He’s the leading wicket-taker in the Championship, although Robinson missed a game, and he is top of the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings. ”I’m still not quite at the top of my game as there are still parts I am working on, but overall I’m pretty happy with where I am,” he said. “Being in the Test team is the aim, every cricketer wants that. I have played in four Tests and hopefully, if I keep doing what I am doing you never know what can happen.”

Ollie Robinson (Sussex)

Age: 27

Four matches – 25 at 13.80; 204 at 40.80

He has admitted to The Cricketer he has been sounded out about a winter down under. An extraordinarily similar bowling record to Overton this summer, and they have both made two half-centuries. These two guys could not be doing more to bang the Test door down. Robinson took 13 wickets in the win over Glamorgan, and 5 for 58 against Northants in front of England men's performance director Mo Bobat and head scout James Taylor. He missed the match against Lancashire with a slight side strain but is now fit again. “I’m just trying to do what I do for Sussex and stay consistent and level,” he said. “It is nice to be spoken about and watched but for me, it is about doing my job for Sussex.”

Olly Stone (Warwickshire)

Age: 27

Three matches – 12 at 27.75; 59 at 19.66

A bit quicker than the aforementioned duo, so Stone comes into a different category. He has made an excellent start to Test cricket and if he can stay fit, could be a handy weapon in the years to come, as a locum for or even in tandem with Archer.

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