Ben Foakes is poised to regain the wicketkeeping gloves from Jonny Bairstow when England’s Test series in India begins on Thursday.
During England’s net session on Monday in Hyderabad, Foakes kept wicket, with Bairstow at first slip. It was the clearest indication yet that both will play alongside each other in India after Harry Brook returned home for personal reasons, which has helped to pave the way for England to select both keepers in the same side.
If Foakes is recalled as wicketkeeper, Bairstow is now expected to be deployed as a specialist batsman in the middle order, potentially returning to No 5.
Foakes, regarded as among the finest keepers in the world, was controversially dropped for last summer’s Ashes series, as Telegraph Sport first revealed. After scoring six Test centuries as a specialist batsman in 2022, Bairstow regained the gloves when he returned from a broken leg.
The debate over who should keep for England continued. Bairstow enjoyed a good Ashes series with the bat, averaging 40.3 and hitting 99* at Old Trafford, but missed a series of crucial chances behind the stumps, especially at the start of the series early in his return. Last season Foakes helped Surrey retain the County Championship, averaging 39.8 in another fine campaign.
Bob Taylor, one of England’s greatest ever keepers, told Telegraph Sport last week that Foakes should keep in India. “I would go with Ben in India where you keep all day in heat and humidity,” Taylor said.
Keeping is regarded as particularly important in India because of the difficulty standing up to spinners on turning wickets. Despite being omitted for the Ashes, Foakes was recalled to the squad for the tour of India ahead of younger alternatives such as Durham’s Ollie Robinson and fellow Surrey keeper Jamie Smith.
Foakes was already in strong consideration to win a place in England’s 11 before the news about Brook. With Foakes recalled, England would effectively have faced a choice between picking two of Bairstow, Brook and vice-captain Ollie Pope as specialist batsman. But the absence of Brook has simplified England’s middle-order dilemma.
When the squad for India was unveiled last month, Rob Key, England’s managing director, said that no decision had yet been made about who would keep wicket. Key said that the decision would depend on “balance of the side, all kinds of things, all kinds of contributing factors. It’s obviously a different place to keep than it is in England.”
Though his batting pedigree is less impressive than Bairstow’s, Foakes has a solid record with the bat in Test cricket, averaging 32.2 in 20 games. Foakes is an accomplished player of spin, and scored a century on Test debut in Sri Lanka in 2018, though he averaged only 15.6 in three Tests in India in 2021. His Test strike rate, 49, is less rapid than England’s approach under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. “I’m not, as you say, Bazball,” Foakes said last year.
Ahead of the opening Test, McCullum declared that “our thoughts are with Harry and his family,” after his departure for personal reasons. The England Test coach also confirmed that Brook could yet return to the squad to play a role later in the five-Test series. “When he says he might be ready, when that conversation starts to happen, cool. If that doesn’t happen then that’s OK as well.”
McCullum also defended the side’s decision to train in Abu Dhabi, rather than have any warm-up matches in India.
“I was actually coming across the top of it a little bit with my golf swing so I was hitting it left to right,” McCullum joked.
“It was a great week. Obviously it’s no secret that we’re trying to enjoy ourselves as a team as well, and those things away from cricket are obviously super important to this side. A lot of our messaging is consistent , not just around the cricket field but around daily life and that includes enjoying yourself.
“The preparation was brilliant. Abu Dhabi Cricket have done a wonderful job, their facilities out there are as good as anywhere in the world. They give us free rein to create the type of pitches and set-up that we need and the guys, we walked away from Abu Dhabi with a huge amount of confidence that we’ve prepared as well as we possibly can.”
India’s superstar Virat Kohli has withdrawn from the first two Tests for personal reasons. Kohli averages 60.1 at home in Test cricket, and hit 235 against England in Mumbai in 2016. KL Rahul is expected to bat at number four instead, relinquishing the gloves, with keeper KS Bharat likely to slot in.
McCullum is confident that captain Ben Stokes, who batted in the nest in Hyderabad, will play as a specialist batsman.
“He looks like a greyhound. He’s stripping fit . He’s put the hard work in, and everyone knows his worth ethic is phenomenal. I’ve seen him running around and I think he’s good to go. We’ll obviously make that call as late as what we need to.”
England’s preparations suffered a blow as Shoaib Bashir, the uncapped 20-year-old off spinner, was unable to fly to India because of a visa delay. Bashir was born in Surrey and is a British passport holder. The delay is believed to have been because he is of Pakistani heritage, and follows delays in visas for a series of players with Pakistani backgrounds in recent years.
“Everyone is doing what they can,” McCullum said. It’s a process we need to go through. We’re pretty confident that we’re close.
“The time that Bash had with the squad over in Abu Dhabi, where he fitted in seamlessly, will serve him greatly. We’ve also got a little bit of support out there for him so he’s not on his own. We’re hoping the news will come through today [Monday] that his visa has been approved, then we’ll get him to sink his teeth into this series.”
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