You can't drop Woakes so who goes?

Who moves over to allow Stokes back? Nightclub bully is one of our best 11 so we need him back, but at the expense of who I Y O?

Well, it will be a case of horses for courses. If Trent Bridge is going to seam we could even go in without the spinner.

Otherwise, Broad has probably been the least effective of our bowlers (not that he’s been bad, just the bar is pretty high) this series but surely won’t be benched on his home ground, so young Curran could be the temporary fall guy, but it’s a nice problem to have. I’d be surprised if Stokes is mentally and physically ready for next week whatever the outcome, so it’s probably one for later in the series at the earliest.

whitburn wrote:Who moves over to allow Stokes back? Nightclub bully is one of our best 11 so we need him back, but at the expense of who I Y O?

the new guy.

Nath wrote:

whitburn wrote:Who moves over to allow Stokes back? Nightclub bully is one of our best 11 so we need him back, but at the expense of who I Y O?

the new guy.

Pope, you mean? Move Woakes up to 4?

We could have a complete team of all-rounders before long. Jimmy needs to work on his batting to stay in there...

beamer wrote:Well, it will be a case of horses for courses. If Trent Bridge is going to seam we could even go in without the spinner.

Otherwise, Broad has probably been the least effective of our bowlers (not that he’s been bad, just the bar is pretty high) this series but surely won’t be benched on his home ground, so young Curran could be the temporary fall guy, but it’s a nice problem to have. I’d be surprised if Stokes is mentally and physically ready for next week whatever the outcome, so it’s probably one for later in the series at the earliest.

Agreed on Stokes mental state, but how can you actually tell?

taipan wrote:

beamer wrote:Well, it will be a case of horses for courses. If Trent Bridge is going to seam we could even go in without the spinner.

Otherwise, Broad has probably been the least effective of our bowlers (not that he’s been bad, just the bar is pretty high) this series but surely won’t be benched on his home ground, so young Curran could be the temporary fall guy, but it’s a nice problem to have. I’d be surprised if Stokes is mentally and physically ready for next week whatever the outcome, so it’s probably one for later in the series at the earliest.

Agreed on Stokes mental state, but how can you actually tell?

See if he does a Gazza when you tell him he’s not playing?

I don’t know how much longer the trial is likely to last, if he’s cleared though a 4th Test return looks most likely. Obviously any custodial sentence will rule him out for some time and cast doubt on his short to medium term future at least. If he gets a suspended/community sentence I don’t expect we will see him again this summer or probably in the winter either - perhaps an agreement with Australia, given the Smith issue, that both sides will reattach nose to face in time for the World Cup and Ashes.

So it's not going to be Broad.

Quite right. For all his faults when he clicks he is probably the most devastating bowler in world cricket at the moment. 7 times he's got a 5fer in a single spell, can't be many active players who have done that. Would have done it again today if rain hadn't intervened.

And so close to being the first bowler to take three Test hat-tricks. (Well, that third ball wasn’t actually that close, it went for four byes down the leg side... )

That’s just what he does, for long spells he can look unthreatening, then when it clicks he’s unplayable.

He's probably been my favourite England bowler since that spell at the Oval in 2009. The long periods of dross are more than made up for when he goes mental. It's exhilarating to watch when he's on song.

He often comes good in key moments of big series as well, big game player.

That Sturat inswinger to castle Poonjabber was a cracker.

He has now moved into the top 10 of all time Test wicket takers... he and Anderson now have 977 between them.

Which pairs of bowlers have played together with a combined 1000 wickets to their name? Probably just Warne and McGrath, and Murali and Vaas, I would guess. Certainly not two seamers, given only Walsh and McGrath had previously reached the half-millennium themselves.

Stokes is not in the squad for TB, but could in theory be added after the verdict is known.