Former England batting coach Mark Ramprakash has criticised the decision to move Ollie Pope up to number three and Joe Root back to number four, claiming it "defies logic".
England are set to enter a new era this week when they play their first Test under the new head coach and captain pairing of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. And it has been confirmed that Pope will bat at three despite never having done so in his entire first-class career.
Root, meanwhile, will bat at his favoured number four spot despite impressing at three in the recent tour of the West Indies. In that series, Root made 289 runs at an average of 48.16, including two centuries.
However, Stokes asked Root to return to number four, stating: "Wherever Joe bats he gets runs, but his best position is at four. I feel him at four and me at six gives us a bit of experience in the gap."
But Ramprakash believes Root should have remained at three, with Jonny Bairstow moving up to four and a younger player like Pope or Harry Brook slotting in at five. In his column for the Guardian, Ramprakash wrote: "I'm disappointed not to see Joe Root batting at three for the good of the team.
"When he was captain I was happy for him to bat at four, but his whole focus now is scoring runs and assisting his teammates. Jonny Bairstow has huge experience and if he is going to be in the team he must bat at four, with a younger player at five and Stokes at six.
"Instead, Ollie Pope is to bat at three for the first time in his career. I am a huge fan of his, but this decision defies logic.
"You want players in positions where they are more likely to succeed, and though Pope has the game to be successful in recent times he has been a bit frenetic and anxious at the start of his innings and I don't think his promotion will do anything to calm that down."
However, Pope has insisted he is "ready to step up", telling the Evening Standard : "I know I haven't done it [before], but the way I have been going about my innings this year my game is definitely suited to it. I feel I have the game to bat higher. I do think I'm ready for this challenge to get up the order and get my hands dirty, dictate the innings early, set up games.
"I would have liked the last few Tests to go better, but having had the experiences that I have under my belt at 24, some of the best Test players haven't even made their debuts by then. I have learnt lessons, some of them the hard way, and feel I am ready to step up."
