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[petehosk]

I suspect the name nailed in will be below:

1. Burns
2.
3.
4. Root
5. Buttler
6. Stokes
7. Foakes/Bairstow
8. Moeen/Leach (suspect that Ali will get the nod!!)
9.
10 Broad
11 Anderson

I think Woakes may get the 9 as he is normally pretty special in home conditions! Sam will be fighting for that position too.
2 and 3 - I suspect both will be decided on how the CC goes for the opening batsmen!! If they hit mega-runs (especially in Div1) then they will be looked at.

[SD]

How on earth do people think Roy is in contention to open?

A bloke who can't get into his county side as a no.3 isn't going to be a successful Test matcqqqh opener, is he...

There were similar reservations over Butler being selected and he plays even less red ball cricket than Roy

[ppccopener]

Very smooth Malan has to less left field than a lot of those other options

Malan, Stoneman and Vince could be in with a shout, Vince proved very frustrating but does have talent if he sort his faults out outside off...
 
But it's a number 2 really we need.Burns has his bat coming from gully to mid wicket....it's not great as @SD has pointed out, but he does score runs. Like anything technical, if you score runs no one mentions it, once you don't everyone brings it up.i think he is worth working with and given time.

Number 2... Ideally is Hameed, has the temperament and fits perfectly into side side around strokemakers...but he needs a good season behind him I think first, he's had two bad ones.

Stoneman is a genuine opener, he would be my pick.
Unless Cook reverses his retirement of course 

[enlightened]

How on earth do people think Roy is in contention to open?

A bloke who can't get into his county side as a no.3 isn't going to be a successful Test match opener, is he...

Every chance he'll be as successful as the ones we've got.

[petehosk]

Burns has been decent foro a few home seasons now. So I can't see any reason to consider anyone else for a home Ashes.
It may be a scenario that we start to pick half the Test team based on where the series is being played!! For example, in Asia Jennings as he plays spin so well.
Away in Aus, Woods may get the 3rd bowling gig as he may suit fast wickets better than Woakes/Curran!
I am not saying it is a great process, but it may come to that? Will be intertesting to see if Archer gets an Ashes call-up this year? I suspect he will definitely be in the squad at least!

[goodarmcindy]

Burns has been decent foro a few home seasons now. So I can't see any reason to consider anyone else for a home Ashes.
It may be a scenario that we start to pick half the Test team based on where the series is being played!! For example, in Asia Jennings as he plays spin so well.
Away in Aus, Woods may get the 3rd bowling gig as he may suit fast wickets better than Woakes/Curran!
I am not saying it is a great process, but it may come to that? Will be intertesting to see if Archer gets an Ashes call-up this year? I suspect he will definitely be in the squad at least!

Surely picking the right players for the conditions is the best situation, though? Don't know why horses for courses gets such a bad reputation. Certain types of bowlers are more suited than others to certain conditions, just as certain batsmen are.

[six and out]

Surely picking the right players for the conditions is the best situation, though? Don't know why horses for courses gets such a bad reputation. Certain types of bowlers are more suited than others to certain conditions, just as certain batsmen are.

I think there has always been an element of picking bowlers for conditions, eg. 2 spinners in Asia. But picking specific batsman for conditions is a whole new thing.

[petehosk]

I don't actually disagree. But it is not the norm and never has been.
The odd player change for the conditions, playing 2 spinners on dry wickets or just a part time spinner on a green wicket.
But to change half the team depending on conditions is an interesting concept. Test cricket becoming a science......

[WalkingWicket37]

Every chance he'll be as successful as the ones we've got.

On that logic you may as well pick any old player and just say "they can't do any worse".
In fact, why not pick a bowler and just put them in to open? They'd likely score just as well as the "specialist" ones we've tried recently...

Woakes (he has a Test hundred)
Rashid (several 1st class hundreds)
Dawson (1st class hundreds and provides a SLA option)
Curran (he's got a few 50's down the order so must be capable)
Leach (SLA option and has opened in a Test before)
Broad (has a Test hundred)

[ppccopener]

Woakes !!! 

Pad up we are avin a bat

[enlightened]

On that logic you may as well pick any old player and just say "they can't do any worse".
In fact, why not pick a bowler and just put them in to open? They'd likely score just as well as the "specialist" ones we've tried recently...

Woakes (he has a Test hundred)
Rashid (several 1st class hundreds)
Dawson (1st class hundreds and provides a SLA option)
Curran (he's got a few 50's down the order so must be capable)
Leach (SLA option and has opened in a Test before)
Broad (has a Test hundred)

I explained my logic in my earlier post. Roy can be a destructive batsman and could really get us off to a flying start if he fires. If he doesn't then we're no worse off given the contributions of our 'specialist' openers in recent years. This would, of course, need some sort of insurance policy which at the moment is the depth of our batting options in the middle, lower order. Not quite the same as picking a bowler and asking them to open but if you want to pick another bowler then stick Bairstow in to open.

[WalkingWicket37]

In a game that lasts 5 days why do you need a flying start? I thought the Ashes was a Test series, not a T20 competition...

Picking Bairstow to open can only end badly, just look at the way he plays. I can imagine the new ball swinging nicely on the way through to rearrange his stumps!

[richyreed]

I would love to see Max Holden have a good season and get in contention for a test place. He is too young and inexperienced to be thrown into an Ashes but maybe by next winter he might be ready. His resemblance to cooky is uncanny!

[enlightened]

In a game that lasts 5 days why do you need a flying start? I thought the Ashes was a Test series, not a T20 competition...

Picking Bairstow to open can only end badly, just look at the way he plays. I can imagine the new ball swinging nicely on the way through to rearrange his stumps!

A flying start 50% of the time is better than a crap start 100% of the time. Bairstow has opened before and done OK as far as I can remember (which isn't far admittedly)!

[Manormanic]

This is a really tricky one because we are discussing it five plus months out - though hey, we love a good selection debate, right?

My thoughts, rather unstructured, are as follows.  We will go into the Ashes with our multi format players having played no more than two red ball games, one of which will be the banana skin test again Ireland.  I would therefore, personally, want at least two batsmen who are NOT part of the one day party as well as the obvious bowlers who are not.

I don't think there are many who are nailed on certs at this stage in the eyes of the selectors.  I would say Root, Stokes, Anderson and Broad are possibly the only four, with Buttler and Bairstow very strong probables.  I think myself that Archer has to be in there too.

From that start, you have to structure a side.  If Root were prepared to bat three, that'd be easy - but I don't sense that his objection to doing so is going to change, nor do I think that the more outre selections to open (I still think Buttler would have some merit, for example) will be considered.  So, either Bairstow returns to three - which is one, possibly two places too high, as hard as he worked on his technique post football injury.  Options therefore become:
1. Bairstow keeps and bats seven
2. Foakes keeps, and Bairstow/Buttler fight it out for one spot.

I think, at this stage, that we will favour green seamers for much of the series, playing to our strengths.  I don't think we'll go without a spinner, but I wouldn't be amazed if we considered it, and I think the side is likely to start something like Burns, AN Other, AN Other, Root, Buttler, Stokes, Bairstow, Ali or Curran, Woakes or Archer, Broad, Anderson.   Who the others may be will be up in the air, but names in the frame early season will be Denly, Malan, Stoneman, Hameed and Vince - sorry, its not innovative, but its true - with the possible bolters any of Warwickshire's top three who make a solid start and possibly Joe Clarke.