Injury-hit England tipped to name Test debutant

With the nation having barely recovered from England's stunning World Cup win, the eyes of their national selectors have quickly turned to Test cricket with the Ashes just two weeks away.

England will announce their squad on Wednesday for the one-off Test against Ireland on July 24-27 and are also expected to announce an extended group of players who will take part in the Ashes.

We've taken a closer look at the candidates for both the Ireland Test and the players that are expected to feature in the Ashes over the next two months.

The openers

England have long struggled to find a reliable opening pair and that problem has only been exacerbated by the retirement of the great Alastair Cook last year.

But England are set to shake things up at the top of the order, with World Cup star Jason Roy tipped to make his Test debut at Lord's with a view to him playing in the Ashes.

Roy is expected to partner Rory Burns against Ireland, which would mean incumbent Keaton Jennings – who partnered Burns in England's most recent Test in February – would miss out.

But Burns is far from secure in the side given he averages just 25 from his six Test matches meaning the likes of young Kent opener Zak Crawley and Warwickshire's Dominic Sibley, who are opening for the England Lions against Australia A this week, could come into the frame later in the summer.

Numbers 3 & 4

The debate over whether or not skipper Joe Root should bat at No.3 in England's Test side will only continue unless someone else can make the position of first drop their own.

That task is likely to fall to Joe Denly against Ireland, England's incumbent No.3 who has been in good form for Kent in county cricket this season.

But with just two Tests to his name, Denly is far from a certain starter for the Ashes and Root – who will likely bat at No.4 at Lord's against Ireland – may yet be again asked to move up a spot this summer.

The stylish James Vince is seemingly always in the conversation for a Test return in the top three, while former skipper Michael Vaughan’s Ashes XI in The Telegraph this week included 37-year-old Ian Bell – who hasn’t played a Test in almost four years and has missed the entire county season so far due to injury – at first drop.

Numbers 5, 6 & 7

Following Root at No.4 is expected to be a trio of match-winning bankers for England in the form of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, although Stokes could be rested from the Ireland game given his heavy workload during the World Cup.

While Buttler took the gloves in England's World Cup campaign, Bairstow is their Test keeper and he's expected to revert to that role for the summer. However, given Bairstow's batting is so crucial to this side and with questions remaining over the top order, there's a chance he could be asked at some stage during the summer to hand the gloves to Ben Foakes – the highly-rated keeper-batsman who played five Tests last English winter – so the flame-haired right-hander can move up the order and focus on his batting.

Spinners

Moeen Ali will surely play against Ireland, although his form this season hasn't been overly good and he was dropped during England's World Cup campaign.

But with no serious competition for his spot, the off-spinner and damaging batsman looks set to play a crucial role in the Ashes, which could be a fascinating battle given Australia could well stock their top-order with left-handers.

Nathan Lyon caused Moeen nightmares in the 2017-18 summer and renewing their rivalry in English conditions is another battle to look forward to.

Fast bowlers

England have a solid bank of quality fast bowlers to choose from, although their resources will be stretched thin for the Ireland Test due to injury.

Mark Wood suffered a side strain during the World Cup final, the seriousness of which is expected to be known later this week, while new boy Jofra Archer – uncapped at Test level but set to play a role in the Ashes – is also battling a side strain and is reportedly unlikely to take on Ireland.

Veteran Jimmy Anderson is also an unlikely starter against Ireland due to a calf problem and will be racing the clock to be fit for the first Ashes Test.

Those injuries mean another World Cup hero, Chris Woakes, may have to play at Lord's despite a temptation to rest him for the start of the Ashes.

Two bowlers who are fit and firing are veteran Stuart Broad and left-armer Sam Curran, who picked up six wickets for the England Lions against Australia A this week.