England’s 2021 Test record was one of the bleakest in the history of Test cricket, though arguably also one of the toughest. They lost a series in India where few teams have won over the past 30 years, they then lost a home series against New Zealand who were then crowned as World Test champions, and found themselves behind in a home series against India before covid issues put paid to the final Test of that series. They then headed to Australia where they have won only one series since 1987 and duly lost 4-0. In between that, they were beaten in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, a tournament they had been expecting to win. All in all, very little went right over that 12 month period, and it was obvious to most that something had to change if they were to put a halt to the bleeding and start to climb back out of the cellar.

One of the questions requiring answering is – do they have the depth of players in the red ball game to do that? And just how would the England selectors – or selector – go about that? Well, that was answered this week with the announcement of the Test squad to travel to the West Indies for their three Test series, and it is fair to say that it has caused some controversy. So, with Australia currently more concerned about sacking successful coaches, today we’ll have a quick look over the squad that England has selected, and discuss whether or not the changes that have been made are sending the team into the right direction, or if it is just reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. So that is today’s discussion on The Casual Mankadder, on the podcast that professes to have some idea on certain issues, Thoughts from the Metal Cavern