There may be troubles ahead: England selection issues.

[D/L]

Cook
Root
Trott
Bell
Ali
Taylor
Stokes
Butler
Broad
Anderson
Onions

Looks half decent to me

Trott? Can he realistically tour, a prerequisite of international cricket surely?

A tricky question. We've had a player, supposedly OK to tour, leave the team on the eve of an away series before and that can really make a mess of all the preparation.

[Gingerfinch]

No point picking Trott for a home series, if he is unable to tour. He may though be able to.

[sussexpob]

Trott will turn 33 soon, so its highly unlikely he will play test cricket again.

[Making_Splinters]

I think people are writing Trott off a little too prematurely. England only have two experianced batsmen in the side and the likely Warks connection can not be understated.

[andy]

I cant see Trott playing international cricket again, which is a real shame and a huge blow.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Taylor and Robson filling their boots. Maybe the two most likely bats to get a call up. Robson is getting a lot of press backing, though Taylor doesn't seem to have had unconditional backing from the selectors. Surely he is due a chance? Must be him or Ballance.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Two late wickets, but a good day for the Lions. Taylor 99*, Robson a ton.

[Making_Splinters]

I'm always sceptical about young openers coming into the side. Chopra has been in line far longer than Robson and still not made his debut. I'm expecting Root or Carbs to open and Taylor to come in for Ballance / KP. If Ali comes in then we can really focus on having three bowlers just picked for their bowling supported by Stokes.

[alfie]

I am still not sold on Root as an opener in Tests. Not saying he will never make it ; but I am nervous of a situation in which he moves back to open , does OK against Sri Lanka and India , and then gets torn apart again by the Australians and South Africans when he comes up against real pace bowling.
Of course the same could happen to a Robson or AN Other ; but I just feel I would prefer to see if there might be a potentially better , and young , prospect for the top of the order - while allowing Root to return to the five/six spot in which he initially looked so promising...after all KP has gone , and some solidity in the middle to mix with a possible new keeper and the fairly new Stokes might be handy.
I am keeping a fairly open mind on the batting order for the summer ; but I would be slightly disappointed if England did not at least try to find an opener who really looks convincing in his spot , as I feel none of Compton , Carberry or Root has yet suggested they are a true replacement for Strauss.

[Alviro Patterson]

Apparently Jaigar Naik is the best off-spinner in the country

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/26276842

[englandmad666]

I like joe root but like others have said he has genuine technical flaws in his game that he needs to work out and im not sure test cricket is the place to do it, but he is still young a summer at yorkshire may do him good! Great to see robson and taylor now making there claims with tons... I think the battle for spots will be decided in early season but we must not cast anyone aside yet, but i dont like the whole idea as giles as coach its a backwards step for me and would lead to some wrong selections. We need a new coach for all formats, that is the biggest change we need this year.

[Making_Splinters]

Big runs for Taylor, surely must finally be in line for a recall.

[englandmad666]

Big runs for Taylor, surely must finally be in line for a recall.

His county record and these runs will make him hard to ignore

[D/L]

Big runs for Taylor, surely must finally be in line for a recall.

His county record and these runs will make him hard to ignore

Yes, Taylor did little wrong when he first got his chance against South Africa (I think) but seems to have been ignored since. He deserves another chance.

[Alviro Patterson]

Big runs for Taylor, surely must finally be in line for a recall.

His county record and these runs will make him hard to ignore

Yes, Taylor did little wrong when he first got his chance against South Africa (I think) but seems to have been ignored since. He deserves another chance.

It was very unlikely James Taylor would be in the England squad whilst Kevin Pietersen was about. No way a player with stand out batting figures could possibly be ignored.