The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThe England squad for the Test series against Pakistan is expected to be announced this Tuesday but the selectors face a dilemma as to who should partner captain Alistair Cook at the top of England’s batting order.
Since the retirement of Andrew Strauss various opening partners such as Nick Compton, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson and Adam Lyth have all been tried, but none have cemented their place in the side. The Sports Lowdown looks at who could be next in line for a call-up.
Moeen Ali
Since Moeen Ali made his England Test debut against Sri Lanka back in 2014, there has been much debate as to what his role in the side should be. While he is picked as a spinner, he is better known as a batsman for his county Worcestershire and there has always been a question mark over whether or not he is a good enough bowler to get in the England side. However, his batting has been constantly improving and there are now many who believe his time has come to be moved up the order and open for England.
Having Ali at the top of the order would solve another problem for England in allowing them to fit another spinner into the side. Adil Rashid is expected to come into the side for the games against Pakistan, and moving Ali up the order would allow England to accommodate Rashid into the side seamlessly.
Ali has opened for England in limited overs cricket before and has been fairly successful, scoring centuries against Sri Lanka and Scotland. There are concerns that his cavalier style of batting could leave him vulnerable to the new ball, but players such as David Warner have proven that it is possible to play aggressively at the start of the innings and be successful in Test cricket.
