Daily Times

MANCHESTER: England have questions to answer about their middle-order batting and they are desperate to find a top-class spinner — but their fast-bowling resources are envied by nearly all of their rivals.

Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad are perhaps the finest new-ball pair the country has produced and will be hard to replace.

Even though Anderson will be 34 at the end of the month, he expects to continue for some time yet, while Broad has only just turned 30.

Captain Alastair Cook certainly feels confident about the future.

“We left out Steven Finn and Jake Ball against Pakistan at Old Trafford — two good bowlers,” he said. “It’s really encouraging when you’re leaving out good players, as it shows the players in the side that they have to perform.”

There are a number of seamers pushing for selection, both against Pakistan this summer and in the future.

Following five fast ballers can play a prominent role for England in coming years:

1. Chris Woakes

The greatest surprise of the summer. Cook has admitted that, after Woakes had a poor Test against South Africa at Centurion in January, he wondered whether the all-rounder would ever make the grade. But he has made it — and how. Woakes has taken 25 Test wickets this summer at 14.4 apiece and also averages 55 with the bat. He has worked hard for his success, too, spending winters at fitness camps in Florida and travelling to the Dennis Lillee fast bowling academy in Chennai. Woakes looks to have the attributes to take the new ball when Anderson leaves the stage. He has a rhythmical action, he is accurate, and he can move the ball both ways and now has huge confidence in his ability. He can expect quite a reception for his home Test at Edgbaston next week.

2. Steven Finn

England cannot lose faith in him now. Finn is out of the team after a frustrating start to the summer and, at 27, he can no longer be called ‘promising’. Yet Finn has proved during his 33 Tests that he gets good players out. Who can forget the spell against South Africa at Lord’s in 2012 that accounted for Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers? Or the burst in last summer’s Ashes Test at Edgbaston, when he took six for 79 in the second innings of his comeback Test, after removing Steve Smith and Michael Clarke in the first innings? Of course, such flashes alone do not justify selection. Finn is a jewel, though — despite his blips and struggles for form and fitness, he still has 120 Test wickets at 29. Finn is back at Middlesex again and everything must be done to revive him once more.

3. Jake Ball

The Nottinghamshire paceman impressed on his Test debut, the defeat by Pakistan at Lord’s earlier this month, despite taking only one wicket. Ball looked strong and able to move the ball off the pitch, as well as generating decent pace and bounce. Standard Sport columnist James Taylor, a former team-mate at Notts, says Ball “bowls a horrible length and is really confident”. Certainly, the 25-year-old seemed to take his debut in his stride and an even temperament is vital for those early months as an international cricketer. If Ben Stokes is, as expected, ruled out of the Third Investec Test with a calf injury, Ball will anticipate an immediate return to the XI.

4. Mark Wood

Wood lit up last summer with his sparky personality, Ashes-clinching wicket and his imaginary horse, which he takes for frequent celebratory gallops around the outfield. More importantly, he is a fine bowler, who has 25 wickets in eight Tests and is willing and hostile quick. The one difficulty with Wood is his physical fragility: he has already had two ankle operations since making his England debut in May 2015. That means England must be careful with his workload. Though Wood has performed well for England Lions in limited-overs cricket recently, he has played only one first-class match for Durham this summer and the selectors should exercise caution.

5. Jamie Overton

The Somerset pace bowler received some rotten news earlier this month — he will miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture of his lower back. Yet England have high hopes for Overton and, as long as he can make a full recovery, it is a question of when, not if, the 22-year-old will play international cricket. He is quicker than most bowlers on the county circuit and James Whitaker, the national selector, is a fan. Although Overton has yet to make his England debut, he was called up for the one-day matches that followed the 2013 Ashes, and selected again — along with twin brother Craig — for the 50-over series against New Zealand last summer.