Former England opener and coach David Lloyd believes Haseeb Hameed should replace Zak Crawley at the top of the order ahead of the Ashes.
Crawley began the winter promisingly, following up an unbeaten 69 against South Africa in the final Test of the summer with scores of 122 and 50 in the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. However, he has made just 121 runs at an average of 15.12 in eight innings since then and Crawley's career average of just 25.19 as a Test match opener is the sixth worst in history among players who have opened as often as he has.
And Lloyd, who played nine Tests and also coached England for three years, believes Crawley should be axed ahead of this summer's Ashes series. "I love the togetherness and loyalty in this England team but you cannot carry on with an opener who is not scoring runs," he said in his column for the Daily Mail.
"Another failure for Zak Crawley should provide an opportunity for someone else to come in and do the job. Sometimes it is better for the struggling player themselves to be left out."
He suggests Hameed, who has played ten Tests for England, should be given another opportunity, having been dropped after a horrific run of form in the 2021-22 Ashes which saw him score just 80 runs at an average of 10. "It would not be fair to ask Jonny Bairstow to open, so having watched lots of county cricket last year, my preference would be a recall for Haseeb Hameed — with honourable mentions for Dom Sibley and Keaton Jennings," Lloyd concluded.
Hameed certainly remains in England's thinking, having been part of the last two England Lions squads and enjoying some success. He struck 145 off 172 balls against the senior team in a warm-up match before the Pakistan series last year and most recently captained the Lions in their unofficial Test series against Sri Lanka A.
After his century ahead of the Pakistan tour against a bowling attack featuring James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Jack Leach, England captain Ben Stokes was full of praise for Hameed. "He's someone you wouldn't necessarily have down for that type of innings," Stokes said.
"It's amazing to see a player like Has, who has done what he's done over five or six years, realising the potential that he can play that way, against our frontline attack." And Hameed believes the changes he has made to his game since that difficult tour of Australia match England's new 'Bazball' approach, stating that he is "optimistic" about his chances of a recall.
"The changes he [Stokes] has implemented with the England team coincides with the changes I've made on a personal level in terms of my game," Hameed told ESPNcricinfo in January. "I came back from that Australia tour and I was clear in how I was going to go about my game and start to look to score runs at every opportunity and accepting the fact that everyone gets out.
"Especially against some of the best bowlers in the world. You're going to face good balls that will get you out so the other balls you may as well try to cash in and, with your style, score runs and put the opposition under pressure, which is what I've tried to do. I had a conversation with Rob Key in the summer about where I was and how things were looking for me and all that kind of stuff.
"He mentioned that for the England team what was important was this idea of soaking up pressure when necessary and then being able to apply pressure at different times. As soon as you sense a moment, being brave enough and strong enough to take your opportunities in the middle and the fact that you'll be backed for it. Maybe the challenge in some people's eyes was being able to show that side.
"I feel like I was able to show that side for Nottinghamshire through the course of the summer and in the game [for the Lions] just gone as well. In that sense, it's been nice for me for people to see that up close. I'm confident and I have trust that that game is also within me and that's why I'm very optimistic."
