England in a strong place for hectic 2021 schedule

Joe Root's men enjoyed a successful truncated summer, defeating the West Indies and Pakistan on home soil

England face a test of their quality in the early months of 2021 in their tours to Sri Lanka and India that could well stand them in good stead for the Ashes down under at the end of the year.

Joe Root’s men enjoyed a successful truncated summer, defeating the West Indies and Pakistan on home soil. It continued a resurgence from the red-ball outfit following an impressive triumph over South Africa on the road last winter. There are signs that England are beginning to find a balance and rhythm to their side and style of play under Chris Silverwood. 

The Three Lions crushed Sri Lanka on their last tour, claiming a 3-0 whitewash in 2018. However, on their last visit to India, they were hammered 4-0 in the final days of Alastair Cook’s captaincy. The defeat to India would foreshadow their loss to Australia in the Ashes in the 2017/18 series. 

In both series, England were unable to remove a top player from the crease in the forms of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, while their batsmen struggled to put sufficient runs on the board to compete with their opponents. 

They have made strides to bat with patience since with the presence of Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley at the top of the order, while Ollie Pope’s rise in the middle order provides strength in depth to the line-up. Jofra Archer’s approach in the Ashes on home soil unsettled Smith, and it could lead to another bombardment of the Aussie with short-pitch bowling in conducive conditions.

Those factors give England hope of pulling off a victory in the Ashes, where they are backed with the best value cricket betting odds at 11/4 to win in Australia, but proof will come first in Sri Lanka and then in India to determine whether enough progress has been made in four years. 

Crawley is one of the most exciting English batting prospects to have emerged in recent years. He was not selected for his form in the County Championship, but rather his technique and his potential to adapt to Test level. The 22-year-old has thrived, scoring a mammoth 267 against Pakistan, along with three half-centuries in his eight matches to date. He appears to have the perfect temperament and style to continue to excel in all conditions. 

Players have come into the side in the past and enjoyed rapid starts before being found out. Therefore, the next two tours will provide a good insight into Crawley’s prospects to become a standout for the Three Lions as well as that of Sibley and Pope.

England were over-reliant on James Anderson and Stuart Broad on their last tour of Australia. The selectors failed to provide variety beyond the two seamers in the attack. Tom Curran, Craig Overton and Jake Ball were not good enough options for Root to turn to, while Moeen Ali had a nightmare in the spin department. 

This time around, Root should have stronger options outside of the veteran duo, with Archer, Mark Wood and Olly Stone as a battery of quick bowlers. Sam Curran and Woakes are valuable depth options behind Anderson and Broad. 

The question will come in the spinning ranks where Jack Leach and Dom Bess are vying for one spot. Both players face huge tours of Sri Lanka and India where they will carry the weight of expectations of the team with ball in hand. Leach fared well in Sri Lanka last time out and could be in position to snatch the starting spot away from his former Somerset team-mate. The pressure is on them to perform otherwise the selectors may convince Adil Rashid to turn his hand to the red ball one again.

England are certainly in a stronger position than they were in 2017 before embarking down under. However, the acid test will come in their upcoming tours to see whether their plans remain on course or require a desperate rethink in the summer of 2021.