The County Championship will begin in under two weeks time and, after a bruising winter, several spots could be up for grabs in the England Test team for those able to get off to a flying start.
England's selections over the previous couple of years have largely skated around early Championship performance, but this year will likely be different. The Ashes defeat has destabilised what was previously a largely settled unit, bringing openings for new and returning faces to force their way in.
While the relationship between England and the counties over player selection has been frosty at best under the Rob Key-Brendon McCullum tenure, the conditions under which both have kept their jobs require that relationship to be repaired. The ECB are on the hunt for a new national selector who will form part of an enhanced selection system to re-enfranchise disillusioned counties. Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, Rob Key hinted at rewards for early season performance: "We've got so much talent in this game and the start of the summer is for people to try and show that they're the ones to do that," he said.
Those getting ready to break out the whites again after a long winter should see that as a rallying cry.
Opening partnership
With the Ashes gone, the justification for keeping the Duckett-Crawley opening partnership together despite dwindling returns has also vanished. Crawley in particular was backed by England's vision of his suitability in Australia, which saw him through mediocre returns in the early rounds of Division Two last year. Duckett is seemingly also feeling the heat, having pulled out of the IPL in a bid to re-find his Test form at Notts. That will see him play alongside Haseeb Hameed, a potential competitor for his place after his prolific last couple of seasons.
Spare bat
After Jacob Bethell took over from Ollie Pope at No.3 during the Ashes, the position of 'next bat off the rank' is now open. Technically, Ollie Pope occupies that spot, but he admitted at Surrey's pre-season media day that he isn't "100 per cent sure" what his summer looks like. That opens the floor for someone else to force their way through. While Jordan Cox has been England's next pick a couple of times over the last year, he will spend the first part of the Championship playing in the IPL. Others in the race include those whose stocks have risen rapidly over the winter, like Asa Tribe and both Rew brothers.
Wicketkeeper
Jamie Smith faltered in Australia, both with bat and behind the stumps. Perhaps most difficult for England's management to overlook is how much his confidence appeared to drop as the series went on. Having hedged their bets on picking players who could stand up to the pressure cauldron in Australia, Smith was instead outstripped by Alex Carey – who showed the benefits of having a keeper with the ability to stand-up to the quicks, and in the form of his life with the bat.
England may well still choose to stick with Smith. They backed him over Bairstow and Foakes, both of whom seem firmly out of the picture. While the challenge from Durham's Ollie Robinson fell away last year, Cox is his closest challenger, albeit one about to spend the first part of the summer playing in the IPL.
Spinner
The earliest part of the season can sometimes be a fruitful period for spinners, before pitches flatten out as the summer progresses. Whether Shoaib Bashir or even Jack Leach or another specialist elsewhere can capitalise on that depends on what England want from their Test match spinner. It seems unlikely they will continue to select Will Jacks, but that doesn't mean they won't pick another allrounder. Perhaps primed for that is Rehan Ahmed, following his Championship-led regeneration last year. How James Coles' early season goes will also be keenly followed.
Pacers
After the last two summers were dominated by picking the type of bowlers likely to succeed in Australia, now is a chance to re-assess, even if pace and hitting the deck hard are still prioritised as attributes. If the winter review does represent a turning over of the slate, Ollie Robinson could come back into contention having been appointed Sussex red-ball captain over the winter, and other younger pacers around the counties could also come into play – the likes of Tom Lawes at Surrey, who was part of England Lions' squad in Australia over the winter, as well as fellow new ECB Development Contract holders Mitchell Stanley and Eddie Jack.
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