The five questions Stephen Fleming must answer to turn England into Ashes winners

Fleming's Five Big Questions Before England's SA Test Hunt

England's just wrapped their first post-Bazball series (30-0 whitewash over Pakistan, nbd), but new head coach Stephen Fleming's desk is stacked with decisions before he officially takes the reins. Good news: he's got a breathing room until the South Africa Tests hit in mid-Dec. So, what's on the menu?

1. Who opens the batting?

Emilio Gay's got himself a case with that gritty 60 at Edgbaston, but a fourball duck in the 2nd Innn left him teetering on the edge—especially once Bethell returns. Then you've got Jordan Cox, who looked the most assured of the new breed, steering home an even 59* alongside Root. The juggle? Gay out = one of Bethell/Cox opens. Gay in = Cox makes way again. And Duckett—still got credit in the bank, but he got bowled out every time vs Pakistan. His SA trip under pace-friendly conditions will be a real test.

2. Post-Stokes middle-order balance?

Here's the irony: Cox looked the most Test-ready of England's three debutantes this summer, yet he might be the one to lose his spot. Bethell comes straight back in, and if his three 50s convince Fleming, there's no room up top. The only escape hatch? Pushing Cox into the middle order—which means solving the spin/all-rounder puzzle. Dan Lawrence looked solid at No.6 (three half-centuries, strikerates creeping toward 80), and while his ball work's been limited, he grabbed 2 wkts in 5 overs at Edgbaston. England will likely keep Lawrence for that all-rounder balance AND protect their lethal four-man pace attack—that squeezes the batting spot back up the order.

3. Backup bowlers to the main quicks?

The core of Robinson, Archer, Tongue & Atkinson is locked in, but the reserves are a mess. Matt Fisher got the nod over Sonny Baker (who only came in as Carse cover), yet now Carse's own spot's up in the air after the Cricket Regulator launched an investigation into his night out. Sam Cook's been in every squad but hasn't played. Meanwhile, Olly Stone's County Championship numbers are screaming to be noticed, and Henry Crocombe's dual hattricks have shot him up the pecking order. Naming that reserve list = Fleming's first job.

4. First-choice spinner away from home?

This is the big one. Against Pakistan, England went four-seamers-only (no spinner) to manage their pace depth without Stokes—and it worked in these conditions. But Bangladesh's coming this winter, and that strategy won't cut it there. Shoaib Bashir's been up and down all summer, Liam Patterson-White's leading the division-one wicket-taking charts among spinners, Jack Leach could stage a resurgence as the senior spinner, and Rehan Ahmed's waiting in the wings. Shaping England's long-term spin game is squarely on Fleming.

5. What's the post-Bazball identity?

The Pakistan series gave us glimpses. The top six looks sharper, the four-pacer plan worked, but the macro questions remain. Watch how they play the tail—at Edgbaston, their approach in Pakistan's 2nd Innn mirrored the Stokes era and could've cost them the game. Root and Cox's calm finish to that chase was reassuring, but how the team handles real pressure will be THE defining shift from the Bazball era.

Fleming's got a lot to chew on. The South Africa series will tell us everything.

Source: Wisden

Source: Wisden