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England selectors face tough calls: Cook

England greats backing Vince, Bell for Test berths against Sri Lanka

England captain Alastair Cook admits selectors have some “tough decisions” to make when they meet next week to choose the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka.

England are set to host Sri Lanka in a three-Test series beginning on May 19 at Headingley in Leeds, and with the forced retirement of James Taylor and some question marks over the form of top-order incumbents Nick Compton and Alex Hales, there look to be a couple of spots up for grabs in the batting order.

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While Cook will not have a casting vote at the selection meeting, his opinions will plau an important role in deciding who will replace Taylor and fill the opening and No.3 positions.

"The selectors have tough decisions to make," Cook said on Thursday.

"The guys went to South Africa and won and that gives the guys a lot of credit in the bank, but then again we did not score the runs at the top order we would have liked.

"Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes scored a lot of our runs so the selectors have got big decisions to make."

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Cook believes consistent top-order run scorers are the key to England finding long-term success in the Test arena, while he also confirmed star batsman Joe Root will remain at No.4.

"I suppose in a way it's out of my hands but for this side to step forward, challenge India away, Australia away, get back up to No 1 ranking, we need to score runs in the top three, more than we have done in the last couple of years." 

Compton had a satisfactory series at No.3 against South Africa, but doesn't appear to have a mortgage on a position, while opener Hales opened in all four matches against the Proteas, but his eight innings returned just 136 runs at an average of 17, leaving the door open for other contenders to joins Cook at the top of the order.

Image Id: ~/media/E200BF9BA8CC4F66820CF53EBC47AABB Image Caption: James Vince is pushing for a Test berth // Getty 

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has backed 25-year-old Hampshire batsman James Vince to slot into the No.3 position, while both he and Michael Atherton are tipping Hales to hang on to the openers’ spot.

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Vince has been on the national radar for some time, and has represented England in one ODI and four T20 internationals.

"If you ask me about the long-term potential, then Vince has got something about him that I would like to see more of - he is a very elegant player,” Hussain told Sky Sports.

"Alex Hales stays as opener - he is the man in possession and I don't think people are bursting down the door to say give me that position. I think Hales deserves a chance away from home and at home.”

Image Id: ~/media/99A81666F898448FBD01C5F4D08B38D5 Image Caption: Ian Bell has been impressive // Getty 

Bell was dropped for England’s most recent Test series against South Africa but is averaging 82 from three innings in the County Championship, while Ballance has scored one half-century from six innings for Yorkshire.

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Atherton backed Bell to return to the Test XI, saying age shouldn’t count against the 34-year-old.

"In the past, I used to think a lot about age and where the team was going but now I just keep it simple, I just pick the best team,” Atherton told Sky Sports.

"With Bell, although he is 34, you've got a guy with 22 Test match hundreds."

Meanwhile, Cook is 36 runs short of becoming the first England player to reach 10,000 Test runs and is on track to become the youngest man in history to achieve the feat.

"It would mean a lot. To score 10,000 is a massive milestone for any batter because you can’t really argue with a bloke who has scored 10,000, no matter how they have gone about it because that is a lot of runs in a lot of conditions and someone who has been tested for a long period of time.”

Image Id: ~/media/8A69E289C1A44F93BF0D428F74A32B20