England face searching Ashes questions after India series thriller

England suffered an agonising six-run loss to India at the Oval on Monday as one of the most significant Test series of current times ended in a 2-2 draw.Their next major

red-ball task is a five-match Ashes series away to arch-rivals Australia– where England have actually gone 15 Tests without a win– starting in November.Advertisement Below AFP Sport takes a look at some of the crucial concerns that emerged from England’s rollercoaster contest with India and what they imply for their quest to regain the Ashes’Down Under’. Stokes central to England’s hopes What England gain from having Ben Stokes in their side was never more obvious than when their inspirational captain missed out on the 5th Test with a shoulder injury– a fresh worry following his history of hamstring trouble.The 34-year-old all-rounder was the most threatening member of England’s attack versus India, taking 17 wickets at 25 in 140 overs– the most he has bowled in a series.Advertisement Stokes also recalled to his best with the bat, scoring 141 in England’s mammoth overall of 669 in the drawn 4th Test at Old Trafford. By contrast expert opener Zak Crawley

stopped working to reach three figures in 9 innings.And at the Oval, the sight of vice-captain Ollie Pope running off to the dressing space to receive what seemed tactical assistance from Stokes did not say much for England’s depth of leadership.England limited-overs captain Harry Brook, likewise an essential of the Test team and a lively skipper in the Stokes mould, might yet show a much better fit as vice-captain versus Australia.Fast-bowling plan under risk Advertisement England have long thought a battery of

genuinely quick bowlers is essential if they are to win an Ashes series in Australia for the first time since 2010/11. However physical fitness problems could blight their best-laid plans.Jofra Archer made an encouraging go back to Test cricket against India but played simply 2 matches

as England sought to

handle the express paceman’s workload.Mark Wood, another bowler with genuine speed, has actually not played Test cricket for nearly 12 months and had knee surgical treatment earlier this year.The irregular Josh Tongue’s

return of 19 wickets at under 30 in the India series could well see

him chosen for Ashes duty, with Gus Atkinson’s five-wicket haul on his go back to Test responsibility at the Oval doing his cause no harm.Advertisement Spin dilemma England, and Stokes in specific,

have revealed substantial faith in Shoaib Bashir, a 21-year-old off-spinner not able to hold down a regular location in a county side but who has

now taken 68 wickets in 19 Tests at 39. In the India series, Bashir’s 10 wickets came at a costly average of 54.1, before a finger injury ruled him out of the last 2 Tests.But Hampshire stalwart Liam Dawson failed to seize his chance in the drawn 4th Test,

with Stokes appearing to tell the left-armer where he must be bowling on the Old Trafford pitch.Leicestershire’s 20-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, already England’s youngest Test cricketer, is another option.Advertisement England, nevertheless, didn’t bother with a professional spinner at the Oval, deploying Joe

Root and Jacob Bethell– clean bowled following a reckless charge down the pitch during a second-innings collapse– for a simple 11 overs combined.But former Australia captain Ricky Ponting thinks England ought to stick with Bashir for the Ashes because of his similarity to outstanding Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.”Australia will have most likely 3

or four left-handers in their line-up which will help the right-arm off-spinner as well,”Ponting told Sky Sports. “And it’s the over-spin that you require in Australia

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