England cricket in 2024: How will Ben Stokes' Test side fare in India, and can Jos Buttler land T20 World Cup glory?
/dnl.tntsports.co.uk/sd/img/placeholder/tnt_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 28/12/2023 at 13:45 GMT
England's 2023 proved to have its ups and downs, with just three series wins from nine across all formats, and a disappointing ODI World Cup which saw Jos Buttler's side fail to progress from the group stage. But the Ashes proved once again the daring of Ben Stokes' Test team, and there were green shoots of recovery during the recent West Indies white-ball tour. So what could 2024 hold in store?
West Indies v England - Highlights from fifth T20 as Hope blasts hosts to win in final over
After a mixed 2023 for the England men's cricket teams, 2024 looks set to be a defining year in the respective reigns of Test skipper Ben Stokes and white-ball captain Jos Buttler.
The Test side - whose last outing saw them draw a memorable Ashes series last summer - will tour top-ranked India for a five-match series between January and March, while there is an equally devilish assignment for the T20 group as they head to the United States and the Caribbean for the 2024 World Cup in June, defending the title they won in 2022.
But ahead of those twin tasks, what has 2023 taught us about the direction of these England sides? And what could change in 2024?
Touring India - Spin twins, Foakes in?
England drew both their Test series in 2023, but that only tells the bare bones of the story.
New Zealand scraped a draw in Wellington at the start of the year, but the year's pinnacle was always going to be the Ashes. And so it turned out, as an unforgettable series saw Australia forge 2-0 ahead, only for a wet weekend to stop England from roaring back to win the series - with it ultimately shared 2-2.
England's Bazballic approach to the series was once again front and centre, and looking ahead to next year, it's tempting to speculate on how that philosophy could play out in India, where England are touring for the first time since the Covid era of 2021, when they lost 3-1 in a four-match Test series.
Stokes says he is always looking at ways to take wickets rather than save runs, so what will his approach to spin be?
Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed - the latter impressive in the white-ball tour of the West Indies - look likely to feature - but could there be more spinners selected, with the uncapped pair of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir perhaps a better bet to extract Indian batsmen in conditions favourable to their art?
And what about the wicket-keeping situation? Jonny Bairstow, who was rushed back for the Ashes after leg surgery, has spent time recuperating following the World Cup in a bid to be fresh for what will be a gruelling tour.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2023/12/21/3848729-78207508-2560-1440.jpg)
England's Ben Foakes raises his bat and helmet in celebration after scoring a century (100 runs) as teammate James Anderson (R) looks on during the second day of the opening Test match between Sri Lanka and England at the Galle International Cricket Stadi
Image credit: Getty Images
Brendon McCullum and Stokes are huge admirers of the Yorkshireman, but could Ben Foakes' ability up to the stumps on the sub-continent see him given the nod? Foakes has previously lost out on a place in the England Test XI due to his batting, but minds should perhaps be cast back to 2018 in Sri Lanka, when the Surrey gloveman racked up 277 runs across the three matches - including a memorable hundred in Galle - with an average of 69.
England schedule in India
- 1st Test: 25-29 January, Hyderabad
- 2nd Test: 2-6 February, Vizag
- 3rd Test: 15-19 February, Rajkot
- 4th Test: 23-27 February, Ranchi
- 5th Test: 7-11 March, Dharamsala
England squad to tour India
- Ben Stokes (Durham – captain)
- Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
- James Anderson (Lancashire)
- Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
- Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
- Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
- Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
- Zak Crawley (Kent)
- Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
- Ben Foakes (Surrey)
- Tom Hartley (Lancashire)
- Jack Leach (Somerset)
- Ollie Pope (Surrey)
- Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
- Joe Root (Yorkshire)
- Mark Wood (Durham)
T20 World Cup - will West Indies series prove crucial?
England began their late 2023 tour of the West Indies with a three-match ODI series. It came just days after Buttler's side had limped out of the 50-over World Cup, coming seventh from ten teams after winning just three of their nine matches.
West Indies emerged triumphant 2-1 in the two sides' ODI contest, but it was the ensuing five-match T20 series that perhaps proved more instructive - and potentially absolutely crucial for England when put in the context of June's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.
Not only did Buttler's men get the chance to sample conditions in Antigua, Grenada, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, but they also will have learned a lot about their squad, especially a couple of breakout stars in Phil Salt and Rehan Ahmed.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2023/12/19/3847996-78192853-2560-1440.jpg)
'A batter at the peak of his powers' - Salt hits three sixes in a row against West Indies
Lancashire's Salt, in particular, caught the eye, with his ferocious hitting seeing him record back-to-back hundreds in the third and fourth T20 matches.
And Ahmed, who will tour India with the Test team, picked up 11 wickets across the Caribbean white-ball tour, and showed impressive control and variety especially considering the powerful opposition batting line-up he was confronted with.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2023/12/14/3844359-78120113-2560-1440.jpg)
'We've seen the potency of that googly!' - Ahmed takes Hope wicket in first over
As well as these newer discoveries, Harry Brook - himself still inexperienced in international limited overs terms - showed what he could bring to the upcoming World Cup, hammering an astonishing 31 off 7 balls that got his side over the line in the third T20.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2023/12/16/3846223-78157388-2560-1440.jpg)
'Absolutely remarkable' - Brook fires England to victory over West Indies in final over
For Buttler, despite losing both series, this will have been a valuable period as he looks to mould a side capable of defending their T20 World Cup crown, and banishing the painful memories of India earlier this year.
Which cricket matches/events are on TNT Sports?
| Event | Date |
| Australia v Pakistan, three-Test series | December 14 2023 - January 7, 2024 |
| Australia v West Indies, Test, ODI and T20 | January 16, 2024 - 13 February, 2024 |
| Australia Women v South Africa Women, Test, ODI and T20 | January 26, 2024 - 18 February, 2024 |
- - -
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement