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Mysterious surface creates selection dilemma for Joe Root and England

Ground staff work on the surface at the Kensington Oval on the eve of the first Test. The West Indies captain, Jason Holder, says he has ‘absolutely no idea’ how it will play.

There was a buzz of anticipation mingled with a little confusion at the Kensington Oval on the eve of the first Test. The ground, arguably the best in the Caribbean and the only old fortress that the England cricket team ever visit – since Sabina Park and the Queen’s Park Oval now seem to be off limits when England are here – was full of activity.

The mowers mowed a verdant outfield, the groundsman sprinkled water on the heavy roller as it made its ponderous way up and down the chosen strip – two had been prepared and it appears the groundsman has opted for the flattest one available. The wise men from both sides stared at the surface and stroked their chins. The players caught their catches and kicked their footballs – though Jonny Bairstow has withdrawn from this particular form of warmup. The tour photo was taken, which had us noting who now sits in the front row. A sign of evolution has Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler there alongside Joe Root.

Everyone on the island seems to be eagerly anticipating 10am on Wednesday, and to add to the intrigue not even the captains quite know what to expect or which XI to choose. Root recognised that he was spoilt on the tour to Sri Lanka.

“We had a lot more knowledge of the pitches,” he said, “and about their players because Trevor [Bayliss] and Farby [Paul Farbrace] had worked with a lot of the guys out there. We haven’t got the same information out here but the one thing we picked up in Sri Lanka is that we have become a lot more adaptable.”

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Jason Holder, the immensely impressive West Indies captain who seems so indispensable even though his side tends to lose more than they win, is from Barbados and was asked what the pitch was going to so. “Absolutely no idea,” he said with a smile.

So what does the strip look like? There are a few patches of green grass in between larger areas of bare, brown turf. Both captains explained that they would wait until morning before announcing their XIs. Then they must decide the balance of their teams, which boils down – in the case of West Indies – to whether to play their left-arm spinner, Jomel Warrican, alongside the all-round off-spinners Royston Chase and their new opener, John Campbell. For England the conundrum might be two-pronged. Do they augment the off‑breaks of Moeen Ali with another spinner? If so do they opt for Adil Rashid or Jack Leach?

Root remained understandably cagey. The Dukes ball has kept swinging out here for a surprisingly long time, which encourages the notion of playing four pace bowlers, yet the pitch with those bare patches suggests the need for two spinners. Oddly England may be thinking in terms of two contrasting combinations since they may not like the idea of Stuart Broad, an unfortunate victim of bed bugs at the team’s hotel, batting at No 9. This means that they could go with Sam Curran and Leach or Broad and Rashid. The former seems the likely pairing.

That England have so many options – and we have not even considered the virtues of Chris Woakes – confirms what Root has been saying recently. He keeps stressing that this Test outfit now works as a squad rather than an XI; he has 14 or 15 players who could reasonably play in the team – though how long he can keep everyone happy is bound to be limited. That period is extended the longer England keep winning. Root said: “Whoever misses out here is going to be very unfortunate but I am sure they’ll be ready for the second one if they’re not required here.”

As ever the cause of greatest concern is at the top of the order where England are still striving for a regular and reassuring opening pair. Here Keaton Jennings, his head shaven in order to raise money for charity, and Rory Burns resume a partnership that did little more than flicker in Sri Lanka. If they fire then the prospects of England’s powerful lower order causing damage against tiring bowlers is exciting.

Likewise West Indies crave top‑order runs. Their pace attack has impressed over the past 18 months and they have managed to take 20 wickets per Test frequently. The muscular Shannon Gabriel will be the quickest bowler on view and certainly the sharpest faced by Burns in Test cricket. But the batting lineup has not been so reassuring despite the obvious talent of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer.

Recently, a good way to motivate West Indies has been to denigrate them from afar. And Geoffrey Boycott has duly obliged by saying in his column that their side is “full of very ordinary, average cricketers”.

When asked about Boycott’s assessment, Root replied: “It is not like Geoffrey to be outspoken, is it? It doesn’t surprise me that he’s said something like that but we are very aware that’s not the case, especially in these conditions. I am sure he’s enjoyed everything that comes from saying that and the attention it’s given but ultimately it doesn’t make any difference to how we’re going to approach things.”

Root is an increasingly confident captain but he also knows that England have won only one Test in their past two tours of the Caribbean.

Teams(possible)

England RJ Burns, JJ Jennings, JM Bairstow, JE Root (capt), BA Stokes, JC Buttler, BT Foakes (wkt), MM Ali, SM Curran, MJ Leach, JM Anderson.

West Indies KC Brathwaite, JD Campbell, DM Bravo, SD Hope, SO Hetmyer, RL Chase, SO Dowrich (wkt), JO Holder (capt), JA Warrican, KAJ Roach, ST Gabriel.