As two of England's youngest seamers, Matthew Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, become the latest players to be ruled out through injury, new boss Brendon McCullum will have to scour the County Championship for some even fresher blood when England host New Zealand at Lords in two weeks time. With the first squad announcement of the season imminent, we take a look at who might have done enough to work their way into the Test squad.
Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)
The first name on this list should come as no surprise. Parkinson may have been part of England's last three winter tours, but running the drinks has been the closest he's come to a place in the XI. The leg-spinner, whose bamboozling deliveries often flood social media timelines and County Championship highlight reels, has taken 23 wickets at an average of 23.47. While this is on the higher side of Division One's top performers, the Lancashire leg-break has maintained an impressive economy of 2.2 per over: the lowest among bowlers to have taken 20+ wickets. This control, so often levied as a missing trait from England's spinners since Graeme Swann, could be crucial in earning Parkinson his first Test cap, after appearing for the white ball side last year.
Josh Bohannon (Lancashire)
With the 'Root at 3' experiment seemingly done away with, England have a space in the top order. Parkinson's Lancashire teammate, Josh Bohannon, has made a pretty convincing case to take up that spot. While he's only batted five times this year - Lancashire haven't got the chance to complete two innings' yet - the number three already has a double century to his name in a match-winning performance against Gloucestershire.
There are a few performers that may have better numbers so far, like Lancashire teammate Keaton Jennings, but Bohannon's breakthrough season last year, where he scored 853 runs at an average of 53, already had him on England's radar this winter. The 25-year-old even had a false tip-off ahead of England's Caribbean tour that he'd been selected - it won't be too long before that call is genuine.
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Another player whose call-up seems a matter of when, not if, is Harry Brook. Brook has scored at least a half-century in all but one of his batting innings for Yorkshire so far, tonning up on three occasions. This consistency means he has amassed the second-highest number of runs in the Championship this season (758), while three not-outs have inflated his average to over 150.
Jonny Bairstow may be the favourite to take up the Stokes' vacated spot at 5 given his tons against Australia and West Indies, if he doesn't shift to 7 and take the gloves from Ben Foakes, but Brook will surely be in the conversation in case a shake-up is needed. Competition with another promising youngster, Ollie Pope, may be the only stumbling block to a place in the squad for this summer.
Matty Potts (Durham)
With Fisher and Mahmood adding their names to a injury list of seamers that already includes Jofra Archer, Olly Stone, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, fast bowlers will be at a premium this summer. The return of the experienced Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson paves the way for young blood in the side, and Matty Potts' name must be atop the list. The Durham seamer leads the wicket-taking charts with 35 - 11 more than the next best performer - while his average of 18.57 is the second-lowest among England pacers, behind Craig Overton.
Potts, who told BBC Radio Newcastle last week that he may not be quicker than last year but can sustain his pace for longer periods of time, has a tendency to counteract lifeless tracks by bowling with zip and varying his lengths. This would provide a nice foil to England's more traditional line and length bowlers, alleviating some of the pressure put on Ben Stokes to take on the enforcer role. Potts' proximity to the new England captain, with whom he plays at Durham, can't hurt his chances for a call-up this summer.
Jamie Overton (Surrey)
While Craig Overton was disappointing this winter, leaving the West Indies with series figures of 4-330, his twin brother has shone in the County Championship for Surrey. Jamie has bowled the fewest number of balls among all bowlers to have taken over 15 wickets this year, but despite his limited cricket, the 28-year-old has claimed 16 scalps at an average of 22.75. This shows an incredible improvement on his performances last year, where he took just six wickets at 75.66.
The Surrey man seems to have gained an extra yard of pace too, clocked at over 90mph on occasion this year. Often playing the battering ram role to compliment Surrey's more medium pace seamers, Overton showed his intimidating skills against Kent last week, taking three wickets for 33 in just under ten overs. Doing so across three short, sharp spells, Overton could be the genuine quick England have lost with the injuries to Stone, Archer and Wood.
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