Ollie Robinson has been handed another chance to force his way into the forthcoming Test series against New Zealand after being named in the County Select XI that plays the tourists in Chelmsford this week.
Though a centrally contracted England player after his breakout summer last year, Robinson was omitted from the squad for the first Test at Lord’s next week. It followed a winter in Australia and the Caribbean that was dogged by fitness problems and then a truncated start to this season back at Sussex.
The 28-year-old right-armer has faced questions over his professionalism but has also been unlucky. His campaign was delayed by a dental problem and, after finally getting on the park and taking seven wickets against Middlesex at the start of this month, a stomach illness curtailed his second outing at Leicestershire.
In Robinson’s most recent appearance against the New Zealanders, he bowled 18 wicketless overs before a washout on Monday led to the match ending in a draw; now, at least, comes another opportunity as one of two capped England players in a 12-man squad that takes on the tourists over four days from Thursday.
Dom Sibley, who was dropped from the England Test setup last season, is the other and will probably open alongside Ben Compton, the South Africa-born Kent right-hander who is the leading run-scorer in Division One with 878 runs from 11 innings.
Compton, cousin of the former England batsman Nick Compton, will not get the chance to make the hallowed figure of 1,000 runs before the end of May, however, with the tourists expected to field more than 11 players in their final tour match meaning the fixture will not count as first-class.
Nevertheless, the fixture provides a shop window for a number of England hopefuls, with Tom Haines, the Sussex left-hander name-checked by Rob Key, the director of men’s cricket, and Jamie Porter, the Essex right-armer, among those included.
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County Select XI squad
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Jack Blatherwick (Lancashire), Michael Burgess (Warwickshire), Ben Compton (Kent), Ben Gibbon (Worcestershire), Nick Gubbins (Hampshire), Tom Haines (Sussex), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Patel (Surrey), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Porter (Essex), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire).
The squad was picked in consultation with the first-class counties – the T20 Blast, which starts on Wednesday, was a factor in who was released – and Richard Dawson, in charge of England’s pathway system, will act as head coach.
Dawson said: “We have selected a strong squad of players who are in form and who deserve the opportunity to test themselves against high-class international opposition. Matches like this provide a valuable opportunity to see how the selected players handle a step up from county ranks.”