The key questions that will decide the success of England’s summer, the Ashes – and even Bazball’s legacy as a whole
Next week’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Nottingham kicks off the six-month countdown to an era-defining Ashes series in Australia this coming winter.
England enter this crucial period in a good position, given that they are ranked No 2 in the world behind only the Australians, having won three of their past four Test series.
The last of those came in New Zealand late last year, a 2-1 win for Brendon McCullum’s Bazballers that many seem to have forgotten amid the swirl of negativity that enveloped England during a chastening second half of the winter that saw the white-ball teams implode in India and at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Yet the truth is, nothing is bigger for the legacy of McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain than what happens over the next few months.
How Bazball is judged could hinge on the outcome of the upcoming Ashes series (Photo: Getty)
If England can win at home to India this summer and, whisper it, follow that up with a successful Ashes tour, then the Bazball project that began back in 2022 will be emphatically vindicated.
The opposite is true if things go awry, especially if Stokes’ team do not at least make a decent fight of the Ashes – something that no England team has managed since winning Down Under during the winter of 2010-11.
So, even though the Zimbabwe Test is a four-day affair against lowly opposition who are likely to struggle in early-season English conditions, there will be much to gain from it for McCullum and Stokes and perhaps plenty to lose for those that do not perform.
Here are the key issues that England will be looking to address:
Is Bethell destined to be in the team this summer?
It appears that way given the 21-year-old’s superb series in New Zealand and question marks over two other top-order batters, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope.
Bethell’s Indian Premier League commitments saved England from making a difficult decision for this Zimbabwe Test.
He has yet to score a first-class century, but it feels like Jacob Bethell’s inclusion either as an opener or at No 3 is needed to progress the team’s evolution ahead of the Ashes.
Jacob Bethell made his England Test debut against New Zealand last winter (Photo: Getty)
Both Crawley and Pope have played more than 50 Tests each and have yet to perform consistently at this level.
If either or both fail in Nottingham next week, they could find themselves dropped for the India series.
Is Stokes fit enough to be an all-rounder?
Nobody knows because he has not played competitively since tearing a hamstring in the final Test against New Zealand in December.
National selector Luke Wright insisted that the captain would be fit to bowl against Zimbabwe when the squad was announced earlier this month – with the caveat that England would need to limit his workload.
The chances are that Stokes won’t bowl much at Trent Bridge, but England will hope he can just get through the match without breaking down and then build his fitness up in the weeks before the India series.
How will England’s pace attack look at Trent Bridge?
Even though Stokes’ bowling will be limited, don’t expect the balance of the team to change.
Three seamers will be employed against Zimbabwe, with Essex’s Sam Cook likely to be handed his Test debut and the new ball alongside Gus Atkinson.
Josh Tongue, who hasn’t played for England since the 2023 Ashes, is likely to get the nod on his home ground ahead of Durham’s Matt Potts.
Sam Cook’s impressive form for Essex has been rewarded with an England call-up (Photo: Getty)
Tongue in particular will be intriguing to watch, given that his extra pace and bounce make him a viable contender for the Ashes.
With Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer all missing, this is a huge opportunity for those that play at Trent Bridge.
And how different will it be come the Ashes?
England will hope that Archer can return to Test cricket for the first time in more than four years against India later this summer.
If he does – and crucially stays fit – he will be on the plane to Australia alongside Wood, who should be back towards the end of the summer following knee surgery.
Those two are England’s fastest bowlers and both will be key in Australia. Expect Carse, missing Nottingham as he returns from a toe injury, to also be heavily involved against India and Australia.
The same goes for Atkinson, while Tongue, Potts and Cook all have a chance to stake their Ashes claims this summer.
In a perfect world, England’s first-choice seam attack for the opening Test in Perth on 21 November would likely be Wood, Carse and Atkinson, alongside a fully-fit Stokes.
That attack would then be rotated throughout the series, with prominent roles for Archer and Tongue in particular alongside a more conventional seamer such as Potts or Cook.
Woakes, dealing with an ankle injury at the moment, could also be in the mix for Australia.
But even if he isn’t, expect him to be in the team for the India series if back to full fitness.
Will they keep faith with Shoaib Bashir?
It sounds harsh, but you’d think Australia would hope so. Bashir was sent on loan to Glamorgan at the start of the season because he doesn’t get into Somerset’s team ahead of Jack Leach (remember him?).
Only Jasprit Bumrah and Atkinson got more Test wickets in 2024 than Bashir’s 49. But the off-spinner’s overall senior international bowling average of 40 following that surprise call-up for his debut series in India indicates that he is still raw.
Shoaib Bashir’s poor displays in Pakistan and New Zealand may scupper his Ashes hopes (Photo: Getty)
Poor series in Pakistan and New Zealand last winter – where he took 17 wickets at roughly 50 across both – means that this is a huge summer for a player who many worry will be cannon fodder in Australia.
Such is England’s loyalty, they’ll probably keep faith with Bashir, 21, regardless.
But if he is in the Ashes squad, one of the big questions of the tour might be whether England need a spinner at all in some matches given the more sporting nature of pitches Down Under in recent years and the fact that in Joe Root, they have a part-time slow bowler who can often be just as effective as Bashir.