Andy Pakes looks at the emergence of Australia's James Pattinson and compares him to his England-capped brother Darren.
Sam Holloway looks at why test match cricket is not going to become extinct just yet
Manraj Bahra looks at the subtle differences between the forms of cricket and how teams shouldn't look to pick the same players in all forms.
Sports Editor James Tompkinson looks at the continuing problem of corruption within cricket as the cases of three Pakistani cricketers accused of spot fixing comes to an end
Jonny Bairstow – Having applied his trade well in my home county of Yorkshire, Bairstow now gets his chance to impress on the biggest stage. Bairstow’s biggest problem is that his game is not ideally suited to T20 cricket, but he was the only Yorkshire player to score more than 1000 runs in the County Championship this year and he has a healthy average of nearly 40 in the 40 over form of the game. Bairstow is also a highly competent wicket keeper, and a player that I definitely believe will perform well for England in the future. However, he is realistically in this squad as a back up to Craig Kieswetter and therefore his short term opportunities may be limited. Rating – 7/10.
Scott Borthwick – The 21 year old left-handed all rounder from Durham definitely has potential, but I feel that he probably needs one or two more seasons on the county circuit before he is ready for a proper chance with England. However, he has been impressive within the England Under 19’s set up, and is a very promising young player. The big selling point with regards to Borthwick is that he is a leg spinner, and England have been categorically short of quality wrist spinners in recent years. England will just have to hope that Borthwick doesn’t become the next Adil Rashid or Chris Schofield, promising so much yet delivering so little! Rating – 6/10.
Jos Buttler – Hard hitting Somerset wicket-keeper batsman Buttler has definitely been handed his chance based on his impressive form in domestic T20 games in the last two years. He has a reputation for being able to hit a cricket ball a long way, and tops the county averages in the 40 over form of the game. Buttler is also only 21 years old so has plenty of time to mature as a cricketer, and he will no doubt want to try and earn himself a regular spot within England’s one day squad, emulating the role played by his England and Somerset teammate Craig Kieswetter. Rating - 6/10.
Alex Hales – Nottinghamshire batsman Hales is the stand out cricketer for me in this group of players. He has scored 543 T20 runs this season, boasts a County Championship average of 54 from 20 innings and also has a Pro40 hundred to his name. On the occasions that I have seen him this year, he has looked calm and assured at the crease which has to be a positive sign. Despite a poor showing in his first England game against Ireland last month, I believe that Hales will be around the England squad in all forms of the game in future years. Rating – 8/10.
Ben Stokes – Durham all rounder Stokes is probably the most experienced player in terms of England appearances out of the players in this article having appeared for England in the recent ODI’s against India. The problem with Stokes at the moment is that he is unable to bowl due to an injury, so England fans have only really seen half of his game this summer. He has looked uncomfortable at the crease in an England shirt so far, but it is impressive that he is getting into the team on batting alone, when bowling is probably his slightly stronger suit. He has talent, but has to start producing in an England shirt soon because chances won’t keep coming his way. Rating – 7/10.
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