Is there actually a lack of young talent coming through? I don't follow county close enough to know. I get what you're saying theoretically but participation rates amongst youngsters are still quite strong.
I don’t mean to be rude but I’m pretty sure you have very little knowledge of Englands cricketing prospects/pipeline. The talent coming through is no worse than previous generations
Come on mate, he averages over 40 (which is very good for a keeper batsman) and you want him out of the team, but you have no suggestions of players you think will do a better job. James Rew is one name, but Smith is worth persisting with.
We probably lack openers who are kicking on. ECB are big fans of Ben McKinney, but he's not put together a consistent run of form despite a few stellar knocks. Haseeb Hammed is still only 28, and has started to get his game back after a struggling for a while. There's enough middle order batting talent kicking around - the Rew brothers at Somerset, Ben Kellaway looks promising, Matthew Revis had a breakout season for Yorkshire.
We need to be realistic. If they were to drop Smith (which they're not), then we'd have Pope keeping and Bethell batting at 3. They flew Ollie Robinson out to New Zealand to carry drinks.
Much in terms of promising bowlers do you know? I know there's Bashir but he's not convinced for England.
🚨 WEST INDIES HAS BATTED 163.3 OVERS IN THE 4th INNINGS TO GET A DRAW IN NEW ZEALAND 🤯Justin Greaves - 202*(388)Shai Hope - 140(234) Kemar Roach - 58*(233)From 72/4 to 457/6 while chasing 531 runs...!!! There is hope in West Indies cricket. pic.twitter.com/lRsjuLl6GT— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 6, 2025 This is what is so so galling. Even sides with no resources like the Windies have far more about them than we do.
Spinning wise you've got the Ahmed brother's, pace wise Sonny Baker, Eddie Jack and few other youngsters.
Spin wise, there's Rehan and Farhan Ahmed, although Rehan seems to be focusing more on hist batting and Farhan is still only 17. Somerset have been giving Archie Vaughan a fair bit of playing time, although I've not really seen much of him, and you can't rely on bowling figures from Taunton as any serious guide. For the quicker bowlers, James Minto should hopefully get a full season for Durham. Josh Hull has already played a test and clearly has talent, but his first class record is pretty poor. The problem we have is that county wickets are typically prepared to favour medium-fast bowling, and there's plenty of experienced bowlers who regularly take wickets so it's difficult for younger players with test potential to break through. It can be difficult to predict how teenage quicks develop as you don't know how much exposure they're going to get.
In a dead rubber, I'm all for sticking the boot in, but Windies batting out a draw to New Zealand when we just won a series over there isn't a stick to beat England with.
Yeah, but I'm more emphasising that they'll jig things around to get in Bethell than play another specialist.
One who could be worth keeping an eye on is Mitch Killeen, who joined Essex for next season. He added a fair bit of pace this year, and if he can get regularly playing time then he could develop quickly.
There's also Rocky Flintoff, but he needs to be given some time rather than get pushed because of his name.