Move to turn wicketkeeper-batsman into a specialist batsman may have to wait until the tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies
Everyone can lament the margin of England’s defeat at Trent Bridge but maybe not the outcome itself. Beyond the dressing rooms the idea of any side taking a 3-0 lead in a five-match series is stultifying. So, as the circus descends on the Ageas Bowl, the series is alive with England 2-1 up and only a fool can regard the result of the fourth Test as a foregone conclusion. All the pointers led to an England victory at Nottingham and they lost by 203 runs. There is plenty to excite.
Thursday’s match is the third Test to be played at Hampshire’s out-of-town ground. The first, in 2011, against Sri Lanka was a rain-interrupted draw; England won the second against India in 2014 by 266 runs.
Written by Vic Marks
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/aug/26/england-target-opening-top-order-jonny-bairstow-india-sri-lanka under the title “Bairstow can step up for England but it would be daft if Moeen misses out | Vic Marks”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
