England Test selectors face batting dilemma

A group of England batting hopefuls will be looking to impress national selectors when the next round of the County Championship gets underway from Sunday.

England are set to host Sri Lanka in a three-Test series beginning on May 19 at Headingley in Leeds, and with the forced retirement of James Taylor and some question marks over the form of incumbents Nick Compton and Alex Hales, there looks to be a couple of spots up for grabs in the No.5-ranked team's batting order.

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Yorkshire's Gary Ballance and Australia-born Middlesex opener Sam Robson are two players in the reckoning with Test match experience, and the latter hit the ground running with a double of 231 and 106 against Warwickshire at Lord's last month.

Robson's performances particularly have put pressure on incumbent No.3 and Robson's Middlesex teammate Compton, who has started the County season with scores of 0, 44 and 38.

Compton had a satisfactory series against South Africa in England's most recent Test outings, but doesn't appear to have a mortgage on a position, and with speculation that coach Trevor Bayliss is keen to shift star batsman Joe Root up to first drop, other candidates may be preferred at numbers four and five.

Another of those is James Vince, a 25-year-old right-hander who made an impressive 119 for Hampshire against Yorkshire – conveniently at Headingley – when the two sides met only a fortnight ago.

Vince has been on the national radar for some time, and has represented England in one ODI and four T20 internationals.

His century at Leeds earned the praise of opposition coach Jason Gillespie.

"I thought his driving, and the way he left the ball, was very good," Gillespie said. "He's a proper player, there's no doubt about that."

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Vince has played 107 first-class matches and averages 41.41 with 18 hundreds, and Compton and Hales will be looking over their shoulders as the selection dilemmas heat up.

England coach Bayliss returns to the country on Wednesday after a lay-off in Australia – a little over two weeks before the first Test begins.

Hales has also taken an extended break following the conclusion of the ICC World T20 tournament in India, missing the opening rounds of the County Championship.

"I knew openers would inevitably score runs and put pressure on – that was one of the cons of the decision (to take time off)," said Hales, who was concerned about burnout after a hectic period representing England across all three formats.

"But if I turned up with half a tank, I wouldn't be giving myself the best chance to cement that England spot."

Hales, who will return to County action for Notts against Yorkshire today, made his Test debut against South Africa in the 2015-16 summer, opening in all four matches, but his eight innings returned just 136 runs at an average of 17 and a top score of 60.

It was a performance that left the door open for other contenders to state their case for selection via the County circuit.

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"In the best part of 24 months I hadn't had more than three weeks off cricket," Hales told BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

"I was pretty knackered to be honest, probably more mentally tired. It was nice to switch off from the game.

"The most important thing was coming back with a full tank and the desire to score as many runs as I can. The break has 100 per cent done that, so I have no regrets."

Young Kent opener Daniel Bell-Drummond has also begun his season in a blaze of glory, posting scores of 206 and 124 to quickly put his name up in lights, while another untested opener, 28-year-old Durham star Mark Stoneman, is another to have kick-started his 2016 campaign with a century – making 141no against Middlesex.

Elsewhere, Yorkshire's Adam Lyth has done his chances of a recall no harm with a century for Yorkshire against Hampshire last month, while 118-Test veteran Ian Bell made 174 for Warwickshire against Hampshire – his 51st first-class hundred – to ensure his name remains in discussions.