Finally, England have turned to Ben Foakes

GEORGE DOBELL: Despite being one of the indisputably world-class cricketers England currently have – as a keeper, at the very least – he finds himself, aged 29, having played just eight Tests

It's one of the great ironies of Ben Foakes' international career that he has so often missed out on selection due to a perception that his batting is a weakness.

That's the Ben Foakes who averages more in first-class cricket than Zak Crawley or Alex Lees, who are set to open the batting for England in the Caribbean, and more in his one full series of Test cricket than Jonny Bairstow or Jos Buttler, who have so often kept him out of the Test side.

Yes, Foakes has played a great deal of his cricket at The Kia Oval – the sort of ground which makes bowlers wish they had become coal miners or matadors; careers with some hope of a future by comparison – but his first-class record away from home remains more than respectable (he averages 36.16 for Surrey in away matches, 44.52 at home). You suspect that, had he been picked for Test cricket as a specialist batter, he may well have retained his place for more than four Tests after a century on debut. Indeed, not a single specialist batter who has made his Test debut for England since 2013 averages more than Foakes' 31.53.

But, a little like James Anderson and Stuart Broad now, Foakes has often found himself excluded to compensate for the failures of others. So, despite being one of the indisputably world-class cricketers England currently have – as a keeper, at the very least – he finds himself, aged 29, having played just eight Tests.

The story is not over, though. Foakes is on the brink of another chance to show what a fine player he can be. And while the extent of the opportunity remains unclear – England's men could well have a new managing director and head coach when their home Test season begins – it does appear that, fitness permitting, he will be England's first choice keeper in the Caribbean.

He admits there have been times when he feared the chance may never come. Moments after completing a LV=Insurance County Championship match against Middlesex in May, he suffered a freak injury in the dressing room which ended his season. He missed out on a recall for the New Zealand series – Bairstow and Buttler were at the IPL – and was only able to return in the dying days of the season.

"We were playing against Middlesex," he says now. "We'd been in the field and had just finished the game. I stepped on my heel in my socks and I slipped down into the splits. I thought I had cramp. So, I sat down for a bit, tried to move it for a bit but found I couldn't. I tried to walk on it and it kept collapsing.

^{Foakes in action for England Lions in Australia over the winter (Peter Wallis/Getty Images)}

"I guess everything hit at once. I had a bunch of emotions: disappointment at missing out; you feel a bit guilty for letting people down. You're desperate to be out there. And then you worry if you’re going to come back okay.

"I was 100 per cent thinking: 'Is my opportunity over?' I've had that three or four times, that whole, 'I think that might be it' and then I've come back in.

"But the Surrey rehab team were amazing and I feel my body is pretty strong now."

Foakes accepts, though, that being on the edge of the team for so long has at times been tough to deal with. At the end of 2019, he declined the chance to go on a Lions tour and opted to rest instead. He admitted, at the time, to a sense of burnout.

"I guess when you're on the fringes for that number of years, it can just weigh you down mentally," he says. "It's always having it on your mind. Obviously when county cricket's going on and there's England series at the same time happening, it's a tricky balance.

"When I was struggling three years ago, it was a build-up of constant cricket over seven or eight years and it wore me down. For various reasons - injury, Covid - I've not played anywhere near as much cricket, so the energy and drive is 100 per-cent back.

"You always enjoy playing for England but I'm not looking too far ahead. I'm just grateful and humble for the opportunity and hopefully I enjoy it.

"But I think with age I learn to be able to deal with it and not kind of put all my focus into one thing and be a bit more balanced with it. It's being able to try and essentially just park it as best as you can, which isn't an easy thing. It's definitely something that I think all players on the fringes have found difficult in the last few years."

^{Foakes made a Test hundred against Sri Lanka on debut (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

Those insecurities were not helped by being dropped the last time England were in the Caribbean. Foakes had been named player of the series at the end of the preceding tour in Sri Lanka but, after two Tests against West Indies – both of which England lost – Foakes made way in an attempt to patch up their fragile batting. Keaton Jennings, who has a lower average at both Test and first-class level, replaced him.

"I didn't expect it at the time coming off the back of the Sri Lanka tour," he admits. "Being on cloud nine from that, I guess it's fair to say at the time I thought I might get a slightly longer run. There was always that thing of the balance of the side niggling away. When you're new into a team and you're losing, I guess you are vulnerable.

"I guess it's just about trying to make sure you're performing whenever you get the opportunity. It is international sport, it's obviously quite a tough environment and things like that do happen so I completely understand. But I’m hoping to get a run this time."

He's certainly earned it. At a time when many other cricketers have followed the T20 dollar, Foakes has unashamedly set himself as a Test specialist.

"I would say I've devoted my career to trying to play Test cricket," he says. "The T20 stuff is obviously kicking off, but Test cricket has always been my passion. So getting to this level and performing is 100 per cent what I've invested my time in. Definitely.

"I don't just see myself as a keeper, either. I've a pretty decent record and feel I can do a job with the bat. I guess the only thing that gets talked about is keeping, but that's not how I see myself. The last few games I've played in Test cricket I found very challenging surfaces to bat upon. But hopefully I'll be able to put in a decent show on some decent wickets."

Meanwhile, England announced that Olly Stone is training with the squad in Antigua as he continues his latest rehab from injury, while Jofra Archer will join the squad for the same reason in Barbados. Neither are in contention to play in the series.