The relationship between England's current management set-up and the professional counties, to put it mildly, could be better. But is it fair to say that England have completely abandoned County Championship performance as a selection metric?
Over the course of Brendon McCullum and Rob Key's tenure, the disconnect between the England set-up and the counties has grown wider by the year. A consistent theme when hearing from county coaches and players alike is the lack of clarity over what players have to do in domestic competitions to get selected for England.
Speaking yesterday at Surrey's pre-season media day, head coach Gareth Batty said the selection pathway between England and domestic cricket had been "misted over" while Rory Burns said: "Even if you don't think you're in the conversation, all you've got to do is have a couple of innings - and play a couple of shots on Instagram now - and then you're right in the conversation."
The left-field selections made under McCullum's tenure have gone a long way to fuel those frustrated voices, as has the feeling that the England dressing room is a closed club, which when you're in, you're in, and when you're not, you're not. A particular bugbear is how much rope failing players are given, before any player, let alone those tearing up in the Championship, are given to replace them.
To better understand the validity of those feelings, we've looked into the Championship context behind every England Test debutant handed a cap under McCullum. There are other selection calls made in this time which fit into both categories. Liam Dawson's recall during the 2025 summer was predicated on Championship form, as was Ben Duckett's ahead of the 2022/23 winter. Promoting Dan Lawrence to open in the stead of the injured Zak Crawley was less so. But the 16 new faces tell a lot of the tale.
Matt Parkinson – 2022
Parkinson wasn't a pure 'selection' as such, called into action during the first Test of the 2022 summer to replace a concussed Jack Leach. Nevertheless, he had been their reserve spinner on their previous tour to the Caribbean. Parkinson had only made 37 Championship appearances before getting his only Test cap, but had taken 36 wickets at 20.55 in the season before.
Championship selection? – YES
Matthew Potts – 2022
Potts made a big impression on his debut Test by taking 4-13 on his first day as an England cricketer. Having fallen under Ben Stokes' eye at Durham, Potts had already claimed 35 wickets in Division Two, including four five-fors, before he was selected at the end of May.
Championship selection? – YES
Jamie Overton – 2022
A James Anderson niggle made way for Jamie Overton in England's final Test against New Zealand in the original Bazball summer. With the promise of more pace than England had in their attack at that time, Overton also brought 21 wickets at 21 from his first five matches of the season with Surrey.
Championship selection? – YES
Harry Brook – 2022
Brook is a good case to illustrate the nuance that's often loss in the discussion over players being rewarded for Championship performance versus those whose talent demands attention even if the numbers aren't yet there. Having been earmarked as the next sensation since he was a teenager, and after pushing for senior selection in 2021, he was made to wait for an opening. In response, Brook hammered the door down to make it impossible not to pick him by the end of the 2022 summer. From the eight Championship matches he played in the months before his Test selection, Brook averaged 107.44.
Championship selection? – YES
Will Jacks – 2022
Here's where things start to go a little more left-field. Jacks was given his first Test call-up for England's tour of Pakistan in 2022 as part of a wildcard spin attack. The previous summer, Jacks had played 11 Championship matches, in which he took 17 wickets at 47.00. However, there was a specific point to Jacks' selection. England were looking to capitalise on flat tracks in Pakistan and were willing to compromise on bowling depth in order to do it, with the promise that their pace attack had the umph to compensate. The spinner who took the most wickets in the 2022 County Championship was Dom Bess, who's average that season was 42.91. England's bet was that what Jacks could give them with the bat was better than selecting a specialist who could only give them marginally more with the ball.
Championship selection? – NO
Liam Livingstone – 2022
See above, although this one is even more clear cut. Livingstone had only played six first-class matches in the two years before his Test selection. His only Test cap in Pakistan was also the last time he played in a red-ball game.
Championship selection? – NO
Rehan Ahmed
The last of the trio of spinners handed debuts in Pakistan. Rehan is a clear indication of backing raw talent over numbers, albeit in the very specific situation of that Pakistan tour. Having dismissed Ben Stokes in the England nets at 13, Rehan broke through in The Hundred during the 2022 summer, and scored his maiden first-class century for Leicestershire at the end of the season.
Championship selection? – NO
Josh Tongue – 2023
Tongue was England's sole debutant during the 2023 summer, which fell in a brief period where he was injury free. While he'd already been on England's radar for some time, he'd also had an eye-catching start for Worcestershire in the 2023 Championship. He took 11 wickets in the first four matches of the season, and dismissed Steve Smith in his first Championship innings of the summer.
Championship selection? – Partial
Tom Hartley – 2024
We come to another niche collection of spinners selected for a subcontinental tour. Hartley was seen more as a white-ball prospect when he was called up for England's tour of India in early 2024. He had an underwhelming red-ball record, having taken 40 wickets at 36.57. But, with the obvious Championship option Liam Dawson opting out to fulfil his franchise commitments, and a lack of other specialists breaking the door down, England prioritised attributes. Hartley is tall and puts pace on the ball, and his left-arm angle meant England saw him as well-suited to the Axar Patel-style model. Nevertheless, those Tests in India remain Hartley's only Test caps.
Championship selection? – NO
Shoaib Bashir – 2024
Bashir has become the ultimate example of England's left-field selections, as a 20-year-old with 10 first-class wickets at the time he was picked. So the legend goes that his selection was based off a video shared by Ben Stokes in a WhatsApp group with Rob Key and Brendon McCullum. Perhaps its that, rather than the context of the selection itself, which has blurred the traditional lines of selection.
Championship selection? – NO
Gus Atkinson – 2024
Atkinson's stocks rose fast in the year before his first Test selection, aided by a rapid spell at The Oval during the 2023 Hundred and the looming Ashes tour. England were clear they wanted to take a different kind of fast-bowling group than they had done before to Australia, and Atkinson fit that mould. His white-ball performances, and the five Championship games he played in the first part of the 2024 summer with an average a tick under 30, were enough to justify selection.
Championship selection? – NO
Jamie Smith – 2024
Smith emerged victorious from the post-Bairstow-Foakes dog-fight for the gloves. Playing mostly as a specialist batter for Surrey, Smith averaged 50.70 in the 2024 County Championship at the point he won his England call-up, having also been earmarked as England's next Test keeper for some time. He was also Surrey's leading run-scorer in the T20 Blast, and had scored the fastest-ever red-ball hundred by an England Lions batter the summer before.
Championship selection? – YES
Josh Hull – 2024
Hull's selection is another used to illustrate England's lack of care for Championship form in selection. At 20 years old, the theory was that Hull was selected primarily on the basis of his six foot seven height and left-arm angle, on the off chance he could be 'one for the future'. In nine Championship appearances for Leicestershire at that point, his average was 84.85. He had, however, taken 5-74 for England Lions the previous month, and for the final Test of the summer, throwing Hull a cap was seen as a risk worth taking.
Championship selection? – NO
Byrdon Carse – 2024
Carse's selection is unlike most others on this list, with his international debut coming three years before his first Test call-up. He was also ineligible to play domestic cricket for most of the domestic summer before his call-up, having been suspended from all cricket for betting irregularities. At 29 years old when he received his first Test cap, Carse was seen as an enforcer-type bowler who could take wickets with the old ball, and as a prospect for the Ashes 12 months later.
Championship selection – NO
Jacob Bethell – 2024
The archetype of the gut-feel pick. Despite the lack of a first-class century, the reasoning behind Bethell's selection was clear from the outset. While other top-order options had more Championship runs, England backed Bethell's obvious talent as a long-term prospect rather than allowing him to accrue those domestic numbers. That decision has so far been proven largely justified.
Championship selection – NO
Sam Cook – 2024
From the ultimate snub Championship snub, to the ultimate Championship pick. Cook had cleaned up in the Championship for a couple of years before he was selected, particularly with the Kookaburra ball, and his non-selection was pointed to as the prime example of England ignoring county wickets. England's counter was that Cook didn't fit the type of attack they wanted to take to Australia. Nevertheless, they tried him out against Zimbabwe in the first Test of the Ashes year, but a disappointing debut saw him quickly discarded.
Championship selection – YES
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