5 players who could be named in England’s Test squad for the first time against Sri Lanka

On September 21, England will name their Test squad for the series in Sri Lanka later this year. Some changes are inevitable in the side which won the Test series 4-1 against India.

Although the scoreline looks convincing on paper, it wasn’t the easiest series for England, and India certainly had their moments. England though had the best of the big moments, and stood up when it counted, particularly Sam Curran, who played a couple of brilliant innings.

Despite this, there will have to be some changes to the squad. Alastair Cook has retired from Test cricket, so for the first time in 159 Test matches, he won’t be part of England’s team. This will be a huge loss, not only because of his skills with the bat, but because of the experience and knowledge he brings to the team.

Keaton Jennings will be lucky to keep his place, after a torrid series against India. He may be helped however by the fact he is a better player of spin, so may be well suited to Sri Lankan conditions.

There are also questions about the top order, and whether England will try to bring someone with express pace into the squad.

Here are five men who could be called up for the Test squad for the first time.

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#1 Rory Burns (Surrey)

Burns has been in spectacular form over the past 12 months

It would be a massive surprise if Rory Burns goes unconsidered for a place in the squad. England are looking for at least one opener, and no one has been better in English domestic cricket over the last few years than Burns.

The Surrey batsman has scored at least 1000 runs in each of the last five seasons in the County Championship, and has an impressive first-class record, averaging just under 45 in his career.

He is an old-fashioned opener, very similar to Cook. He has the patience to leave the ball outside off stump, and has a solid technique. He is in the midst of yet another brilliant County Championship season, where he is comfortably the top scorer, having scored 1319 runs in 13 games, with four hundreds to his name.

He is 28, so you’d say he is at his peak, and it would be a bizarre decision if he is left out of the squad.

#2 Joe Denly (Kent)

Denly has been a big part of Kent's promotion push this season

Denly is a man who already has some international experience, having played in nine ODIs and five T20 internationals earlier in his career. He is 32 now, so may not be the long-term option for England, but he is certainly capable of doing a job over the next couple of years.

On paper, his statistics aren’t the best, averaging just over 36 with the bat in his long career, but he is a better player than those numbers suggest.

He has had a good season in Kent’s run to the County Championship Division Two season, during which he has scored three hundreds and three fifties. He has also had an excellent season with the white ball, where he helped Kent to the T20 Blast quarter-finals and the One Day Cup Final.

Something which may go in Denly’s favour is the fact he is more than capable with the ball in hand. It is not his strongest suit, but as a leg-spinner, he offers England another spin option, which could be crucial in Sri Lankan conditions.

#3 Jason Roy (Surrey)

Roy has enjoyed a lot of success in one-day cricket

Roy is undoubtedly the most familiar name on this list, given the success that he has had in England’s one-day set up in recent years. On this list, however, he is certainly the wildcard name.

Because of international commitments and fitness problems, he hasn’t played much red ball cricket of late and appeared just once in the County Championship all season, during which he scored a fluent 63 against Somerset.

In most cases, he wouldn’t even be considered for England’s Test side, but he has a vast amount of talent, and has constantly shown this in England’s ODI and T20 sides over the last couple of years.

He has an excellent technique but has struggled against spin bowling in the past, so it may be a risk to take him to Sri Lanka. He is also a stroke maker in the middle order, and that’s not really what England need right now, as they already have a lot of players in that mold.

#4 Olly Stone (Warwickshire)

Stone has the sort of pace that England have been looking for

One thing that this England team is certainly lacking is a real fast bowler. The likes of Stuart Broad, James Anderson, and Chris Woakes are all incredibly skilled bowlers and have picked up a lot of wickets, but they haven’t really got a lot of pace.

In Sri Lanka, the ball won’t swing as much as it does in England, and these bowlers won’t be as effective in Asian conditions as they are in England.

One man who does have a lot of pace though is Warwickshire’s Olly Stone, and he is most certainly a man capable of bowling consistently at over 90mph. Stone is clearly someone who the England selectors have their eyes on, as he was earlier this week selected for the ODI squad for the first time.

Stone hasn’t played too much first-class cricket of late because of injury, but he has taken 37 wickets in six County Championship games this season at an impressive average of 12.27.

#5 Jamie Overton (Somerset)

Overton saw his brother Craig take part in the Ashes last year

Again, Overton could be a man to help solve England’s problems when it comes to pace bowlers. He is likely just behind Stone in the pecking order, but probably not too far behind.

He has seen his brother Craig make his England debut in the Ashes last winter, but he looks likely to be out of contention for this series though, because at times during that series he seemed too similar to the other seamers.

Jamie is much faster than his brother and has had a decent season with Somerset, taking 25 wickets this season at an average of just over 24. He also has the height to get bounce off the pitch and could offer England another dimension on the slow pitches in Sri Lanka.

England probably won’t bring more than one of that type of seamer on tour, so if Stone goes, then it is unlikely Overton will come too.