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England have made a habit of gambling on young talent since head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took charge.
England have rolled the dice once more for his or her final Test of the summer, handing rookie seamer Josh Hull his first taste of international cricket.
Chasing a rare clean sweep of six wins in a row, England have thrown the 6ft 7in left-armer in to face Sri Lanka on the Kia Oval instead of Matthew Potts.
The 20-year-old is available in with the slenderest of CVs, having taken a grand total of 16 first-class wickets in 10 matches. He has struck just twice in three Vitality County Championship appearances this season, together with his average of 182.50 catching the attention for all of the incorrect reasons.
But England have made a habit of gambling on young talent since head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took charge, throwing Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir in with even fewer games under their belt and promoting the likes of Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson this summer ahead of more established campaigners.
Most of the time, those instincts have served the side well and Ollie Pope – who this week completes a three-game run as stand-in skipper for the injured Stokes – is enthused about watching Hull enter the fray.
“He’s obviously got a large ceiling,” said Pope, in an apparently accidental pun on the lofty paceman.
“He’s pretty massive himself as well, which is handy as a bowler. While you’re 6ft 7in and you may get it down, pushing as much as the 85-90mph mark with a little bit of swing and the left-arm angle, there’s so much to love.
“It’s a terrific week for him to are available, learn somewhat bit and exhibit exactly what he can do.”
England have made it clear that the old idea of taking the ‘next cab off the rank’ – combing the county averages for probably the most consistent performers – isn’t any longer in play and Hull’s modest statistics haven’t been held against him.
As a substitute, England see a player with the physical attributes to cause trouble at the very best level and a distinct profile to those already within the system.
“We’ve played 4 right-arm seamers for the primary two games so it’s just something different for the opposition batters to take into consideration,” said Pope.
“It’s some extent of difference and he’s got some good pace when he’s clicking within the nets.
“The numbers sometimes speak for themselves but there’s obviously a much bigger picture with a number of the guys. There’s somewhat bit more to the numbers and I feel it’s credit to the way in which the fellows have gone about it, the boldness from Brendon and Ben to get these guys within the squad at such a young age.
“Why not get him in? That is a terrific opportunity for him, you may show exactly what you may do within the international stage.”
McCullum has spent the last two years overhauling England’s red-ball team but is about to take a broader role, having agreed to oversee all formats from the beginning of next 12 months.
Matthew Mott was sacked as limited-overs head coach after two disappointing World Cup campaigns saw England give up their T20 and 50-over titles, with the roles now reunited under McCullum’s banner.
Asked if dividing his time between each set-ups would dilute his attention to the Test side, Pope insisted there was nothing to fear.
“I’d be very surprised if he gave that impression in any respect,” he said.
“He’s obviously going to have somewhat bit more time on the road with a busy winter ahead. But I feel the way in which he’s as an individual, each time you’re with him, he’s 100 per cent with you. I’m sure that won’t affect him in any respect.
“We’ve seen the impact he’s had on us as a Test team, as individuals and as a team usually, which I feel he can then transfer into the white-ball stuff as well. He’s an actual optimist and I feel that’s really good within the cricket world.”
