England went full circle in trying to solve the riddle of their acute top order fragility when they recalled Dawid Malan for next week’s third Test against India.
Malan, 33, was jettisoned in Test cricket soon after England’s last away defeat in Australia as a new generation were introduced aiming to peak at this winter’s Ashes.
But England, now without a win in seven Tests, have been forced to rip up their best-laid batting plans, with Dom Sibley joining Zak Crawley in being discarded.
Dawid Malan has been recalled to the England squad for the third Test against India
Coach Chris Silverwood has invested much in both but has finally conceded defeat, with Malan now set to return for his first Test in more than three years at No 3, with Haseeb Hameed moved up to his more accustomed position of opener.
There is also a call up for the exciting bowling figure of Saqib Mahmood, who was player of the series against Pakistan in England’s hastily called-up reserve one-day squad earlier this season but has yet to play Test cricket.
The unlucky Jack Leach misses out on a 15-man squad but Mark Wood is included despite injuring his shoulder in the second Test defeat at Lord’s and is expected to be fit to play at Headingley on Wednesday.
But it is the veteran Malan who, since the last of his 15 Tests in 2018, has become the highest ranked Twenty20 batsman in the world, who will command most attention.
The 33-year-old batsman made the last of his 15 Test appearances in August 2018
The left-hander looked every inch a Test batsman when he made 140 against Australia in Perth in the third Test of England’s 4-0 defeat in the last Ashes but three games into the following summer he was gone.
Ed Smith, then new to the role of national selector, decided Malan’s preference for pace on the ball made him a better pick in overseas conditions and he was banished to county cricket where he joined Yorkshire from Middlesex at the start of 2019.
He is yet another player starved of red-ball cricket this summer and has been playing in the Hundred for Trent Rockets. But he did make 199 in a rare County Championship appearance against Sussex at Headingley in June.
Now, having forced his way into Eoin Morgan’s star-studded T20 side in time for October’s World Cup, he has the chance to return to Australia for the second of this winter’s primary engagements for England, another Ashes challenge.
Under-fire opener Dom Sibley made scores of 11 and nought in the second Test defeat by India
Sibley has therefore joined Zak Crawley (left) in being discarded ahead of the third Test
‘Dawid deserves this opportunity back in Test cricket,’ said Silverwood. ‘He has a lot of experience across all formats and, if called upon, I’m confident he will do well on his home ground. He has shown what he’s capable of in a limited amount of first-class cricket this season.’
There seems little doubt Silverwood will call upon Malan. Both Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence are also included but both are deemed to be too loose in technique for the top three positions that have caused so many issues for England.
The best chance of either featuring in the remaining three Tests would be at the expense of Jonny Bairstow at five, but the Yorkshireman has looked one of England’s better Test batsmen on his return without yet going on to a big score.
For now England need someone, anyone, to offer support to captain Joe Root, who has carried their batting virtually single-handedly all year.
Haseeb Hameed is set to move up the order to open alongside Rory Burns at Headingley
And they have decided Sibley, for one, does not have the technique or the shots to sustain a career at the highest level. Silverwood said the Warwickshire opener remains in his plans but it seems certain, after 22 Tests, his England days are over.
As the door closes on Sibley and, for now, Crawley, who will surely come again, another opens for a bowler in Mahmood highly regarded at county level for his ability to reverse swing the ball at pace.
The Lancashire bowler comes in for the injured Stuart Broad and will compete with Sam Curran and Craig Overton for a seam bowling spot while also covering for Wood while he proves his fitness.
‘Saqib has been brilliant across all formats this summer,’ added Silverwood. ‘He is confident, highly-skilled and will not be overawed. His temperament and attitude are suited to the international arena.’
Malan is now vying for the England number three spot with Surrey’s Ollie Pope (right)
It is another shuffling of the pack by Silverwood but the coach also now in charge of selection will know England’s problems remain structural and systemic far more than from a lack of red-ball talent in the domestic game.
The skewed priorities of the ECB that have undermined Root and the Test side were again in evidence when it was announced Moeen Ali and Overton will play in the final stages of the inaugural Hundred tomorrow and Saturday before joining up with England in Leeds on Sunday.
It still seems, despite all evidence to the contrary, the governing body think two players can best prepare for England’s attempt to recover from 1-0 down against one of the best Test teams in the world by thrashing around a white-ball.
Is it any wonder England’s Test side are struggling?