If Gary Ballance doesn’t fire swiftly for England, Tom Westley must be given a shot at the big time

Outside Edge: Should Ballance fail to impress in his latest opportunity, there are plenty of other options waiting in line, with Westley perhaps at the head of the queue

Back in 2015 he scored a notable century for Essex against the touring Australians (Getty)

England face South Africa at Lord’s on Thursday in what will be the summer’s first test match. The visitors will be without captain Faf du Plessis, who has pulled out following the birth of his child, and the injured Dale Steyn. AB de Villiers, meanwhile, is on a break from test cricket.

Those absences probably make England favourites, despite their own concerns over James Anderson and Stuart Broad, both of whom have had recent injury problems. To ease the workload of that frontline pair, England will surely be tempted to play both Mark Wood and Toby Roland-Jones, relying on Joe Root for a second spinning option.

The recall of Gary Ballance to bat at number three is reward for a series of stellar performances for Yorkshire, which have brought 815 runs in the Championship at an average in excess of 100. On the basis of those figures, it may be hard to begrudge his return. What’s more, Ballance can point to the four centuries and five half-centuries he scored in his first ten tests as evidence of his ability at international level.

Still, the second half of his test career to date has been less smooth: just two fifties in 11 matches in the last two years or so. Against New Zealand and Australia in 2015 it appeared a technical deficiency had been exposed against quicker bowling, while failures against Bangladesh last October suggested a weakness against high calibre spin. This summer might represent a final chance to really nail down a place in England’s starting XI.

Should he not score big runs, there are plenty of other options waiting in line, with Tom Westley perhaps at the head of the queue. Indeed, one wonders what Westley has to do to get a chance of full international honours.

Back in 2015 he scored a notable century for Essex against the touring Australians. Last year he was his county’s leading run-getter as they won the Division Two title. This season, he has scored nearly 500 runs at 53.11 in the top flight, not to mention an unbeaten century for England Lions last week against South Africa. Interestingly, he did so from number three, with Ballance following him at four. His off-breaks are better than Ballance’s leg-spin too.

Westley in action for the England Lions against South Africa A (Getty)

Gary Ballance is a decent bloke who perhaps deserves a last opportunity to prove himself for England. But Westley, at nearly a year older, has pressed his case now for a long time and would have every right if he felt slighted at having been overlooked again. If Ballance doesn’t fire swiftly, Westley must be given a shot at the big time.

Women’s cricket in the West Indies going same direction as the men’s?

England’s women face the South Africans too this week, in a World Cup fixture at the Brightside Ground in Bristol. A win will put them on track for the semi-finals, although South Africa will surely be a tougher test than either Pakistan or Sri Lanka, who were both despatched with some ease.

Indeed, in their last group game South Africa thrashed West Indies by 10 wickets in the most one-sided match-up of the tournament so far. The women from the Caribbean were bowled out for just 48 in 25.2 overs, before South Africa coasted to victory in 38 balls.

Deandra Dottin trudges off after being dismissed for just 7 off 48 balls against India at the Women's World Cup (Getty)

The West Indies’ dismal displays have perhaps been the biggest surprise of this World Cup – three bad losses in three matches mean it is highly unlikely that they will qualify for the semis. All this from a team which was runner-up to Australia in 2013 and which boasts the combined talents of Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Anisa Mohammed to name just three. Last October they only just lost out to England in a hard-fought home ODI series.

Having made so much progress in recent years, however, it appears as if women’s cricket in the West Indies is going in the same direction as the men’s. New Zealand await on Thursday and it’s hard to imagine the fixture will herald a Caribbean resurgence.

Demise of Oxford and Cambridge University as cricketing hotbeds a sad sight to behold

Once upon a time, matches between Oxford and Cambridge universities would pit against each other two sets of students hardened by the toil of early season matches against the first-class counties.

In this week’s four-day game at Fenner’s, just six of the participants have played first-class cricket for what are now their respective MCC Universities’ sides. Only one has played in more than two such matches.

Cricket at the two universities isn't what it used to be (Getty)

The MCCU programme has widened the talent pool and opened an alternative way into professional cricket for students at a range of universities. But for romantics who can turn a blind eye to the elitism they embodied, the demise of Oxford and Cambridge University as cricketing hotbeds is sad to behold.