James Vince

England's top-order batsman has all the potential to be world class... but he needs to find a way of making big scores on the international stage

The Cricketer | 21/05/2019 at 08:16

Born: March 14, 1991

Role: Right-hand bat, right-arm medium

Pleasing on the eye as much as he is frustrating on the international stage, James Vince's talent is undoubted and he has the calmness and elegance to match.

A joy to watch when fully on song, Vince's strokeplay has been the making of the Hampshire batsman but has also proven to be the strength that has been his flaw for England.

Tipped to be the next Michael Vaughan by former England coach Duncan Fletcher, the sound technique imbued within his array of flamboyant strokes saw him break into the Hampshire side in 2009, and which resulted in him scoring 1000 career runs when he was still a teenager.

His ascendancy in the batting department did not stop there, averaging 55.50 in 2012 as Hampshire won the Clydesdale Bank 40, before passing 1000 first-class runs in a season for the first time a year later.

England Lions tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa preceeded a stellar 2014 county season where he scored a mighty 1525 runs at an average of 61, the highest tally in the country, as Hampshire won County Championship Division Two in Vince's first season as vice-captain.

The 2015 season saw him not only make his England ODI debut against Ireland, but also saw him assume further responsibility, captaining a Lions T20 squad against Pakistan A and by the end of the summer, replacing Jimmy Adams as captain in all three formats for Hampshire.

Granted further opportunities with England in the Test arena to stake his claim for a regular spot, his expansive strokeplay proved to be his downfall in 2016, as seven Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan saw him average just 19.27 where he was repeatedly fallible to getting caught driving outside the off stump.

However Vince's defiance, despite a rather modest return in 2017 at county level saw him board the plane to Australia in place of the underperforming Tom Westley.

An initial 83 in Brisbane was as good as it was going to get for Vince, passing 50 just once in his next eight innings before a 76 in New Zealand, but was again axed by selector Ed Smith for the summer.

However, Vince has continued to power on and his 190 against Gloucestershire this season, Hampshire's highest ever List A score, has seen him enter the fold once again, and after fluent but abrupt knocks of 43 and 33 against Pakistan, he has another opportunity to come in on the biggest stage.

A replacement after the problems surrounding Alex Hales, James Vince could see the end of sporadic appearances and consistent national level performances if he is called upon at the World Cup.