After a mediocre Ashes and a dismal start to the County Championship season with Kent, there’s no escaping the pressure on England opener Zak Crawley.
And to make matters worse for the 28-year-old, there’s a host of rivals for his position making their case for selection – be it former internationals who have transformed their game, or young talents pushing to be called up for the first time.
With only three rounds of first-class matches to go before the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, Daily Mail Sport examines the potential replacements for Crawley at the top of the order…
Zak Crawley will fear for his place in the England Test side after a mediocre Ashes Down Under and dismal start to the County Championship season with Kent
Ben McKinney
Age: 21, Club: Durham, 2026 County Championship stats: 312 runs at 62.40
Pros: Like Crawley, his height – 6ft 7in – would provide a nice contrast to Ben Duckett, and England believe he plays the short ball well.
McKinney elbowed his way towards the front of the queue with a career-best 244 off just 272 balls against Gloucestershire at Bristol, and has converted five of his seven first-class fifties into centuries.
Cons: At 21, he’s still learning, and his lack of foot movement could be exposed by Test attacks.
Despite the Bristol double, there are also concerns about a tendency to give it away after reaching 30 or 40 – a hallmark of Crawley’s England career.
England think Ben McKinney plays the short ball well – unsurprising given the Durham man stands at 6ft 7in tall!
Asa Tribe
Age: 22, Club: Glamorgan, 2026 County Championship stats: 209 runs at 41.80
Pros: A right-hander, which would offer another contrast with Duckett, Tribe caught the eye with a hundred for England Lions over the winter in an innings defeat by Australia A at Lilac Hill, Perth.
He has a punishing work ethic, and honed his technique against fast bowling Down Under. Kevin Pietersen has singled him out for praise on social media.
Cons: That Lions hundred came from No 5, and he has admitted that opening is not his ‘preferred position’.
Tribe occasionally gets trapped on the crease: four of his five dismissals this summer have been either bowled or lbw.
Asa Tribe has impressed with England Lions in the past, catching the eye of Kevin Pietersen, among others
Emilio Gay
Age: 26, Club: Durham, 2026 County Championship stats: 344 runs at 86.00
Pros: Busy but elegant, the left-handed Gay drives like a dream and has averaged nearly 48 since joining Durham two years ago.
He already has two hundreds this season, including a brilliant unbeaten 159 against Jimmy Anderson’s Lancashire to turn a chase of 336 into a cakewalk. He’s also had a brief taste of international cricket with Italy: his mother’s family come from Montefalcione, near Naples.
Cons: The presence at Durham of McKinney and Alex Lees means Gay has been batting at No 3 rather than opening.
During his time at Northamptonshire, the selectors felt he needed to work on his game against the short ball – a skill not often tested at county level.
Emilio Gay has started the season brilliantly for Durham, making a brilliant unbeaten 159 against Jimmy Anderson’s Lancashire
Haseeb Hameed
Age: 29, Club: Nottinghamshire, 2026 County Championship stats: 177 runs at 29.50
Pros: He is older and wiser than the youngster whose 10 Tests in two stints were all against India or Australia.
He re-established his credentials while leading Nottinghamshire to the title last season and averaging 66, making him one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.
Cons: Hameed made only 62 runs in the first five innings of the season before a century against Warwickshire helped save Nottinghamshire after they followed on.
His foot movement can still be suspect early on: twice this season he has been bowled for a duck, and twice trapped lbw.
Haseeb Hameed, now 29, is older and wiser than the youngster who won 10 Test caps for England across two stints
Dominic Sibley
Age: 30, Club: Surrey, 2026 County Championship stats: 189 runs at 37.80
Pros: Once he gets in, there’s no more immovable opener in county cricket, as confirmed by his six-and-a-half-hour century against Essex at the Oval last week.
Critics fed up with England batsmen throwing away their wickets would approve of a recall, five years after the last of his 22 Test caps.
Cons: His strike-rate this season is 37 – only three higher than the figure he managed for England.
Even if there is a mood for change at the top of the order, Brendon McCullum may feel Sibley’s stodginess is a step too far.
Dominic Sibley walks off at the Oval having made 101 from 283 balls against Essex – once he gets in, there’s no more immovable opener in county cricket
James Rew
Age: 22, Club: Somerset, 2026 County Championship stats: 379 runs at 75.80
Pros: He’s in cracking form, having passed 50 in four of his five innings for Somerset this season, and offering an extra option with the gloves should Jamie Smith pick up an injury.
He improved his game against the short ball over the winter, working with Andrew Flintoff in the Lions set-up.
Cons: His runs have come at No 4, and there is no sign yet that Somerset will send him in as an opener simply to suit England.
The last time the Test team tried to transform a middle-order player into an opener, the move backfired, with Dan Lawrence averaging 20 against Sri Lanka. But at 22, time is on Rew’s side.
James Rew has been in superb form for Somerset, albeit not playing as an opener
Jacob Bethell has already proved his quality at Test level, though England will be reluctant to move him from No3
Jacob Bethell
Age: 22, Club: Warwickshire, 2026 County Championship stats: N/A
Pros: He’s averaged 53 from nine Test innings at No 3, including a sublime 154 at Sydney in January, so his class is not in doubt.
Since No 3s in England are semi-openers anyway, how much of a jump would it be to ask him to go in against the new ball?
Cons: For the second season in a row, he has missed the start of the domestic summer to warm the bench for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, playing only two of their eight group games so far (and scoring 14 and 20).
Plus, do England want to move him from No3 so soon after thriving there at the SCG?
