Three challenges England face as Test season begins

Ben Stokes's England face Zimbabwe on Thursday at the start of a defining year of Test cricket with sterner challenges on the horizon against India and Australia. HT Image

The four-day match at Trent Bridge will be followed by a five-Test series against India starting in July before England attempt to wrestle the Ashes from Australia later this year.

AFP Sport looks at three of the key issues facing England's red-ball side:

The England skipper is making a determined attempt to resume his Test career as a fully fledged all-rounder, even abstaining from alcohol to return to peak fitness.

Stokes is due to make his Test return against Zimbabwe, ranked 10th globally, having been sidelined since December after tearing his left hamstring in New Zealand.

He rushed back from a similar injury last year and was unable play a full part with the ball.

Stokes said he had changed his approach to rehabilitation this time, cutting out alcohol.

"There's so much more cricket, there's so much more in the schedule that it's just impossible for the body to be able to withstand all of that anyway without the downsides of what a couple of beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day," Stokes told the Untapped podcast.

The 33-year-old averages 35.55 with the bat, including 13 hundreds in his 110 Tests, with his lively seam bowling yielding 210 wickets at a shade over 32 apiece.

But those figures are deceptive and do not tell the full story of Stokes' capacity for match-winning contributions.

England would love to deploy him as a genuine fourth seamer as this would allow them to field three fast bowlers without weakening their batting.

This will be England's first home summer for years without either Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the pair ranking as their country's highest wicket-takers in Test cricket.

Anderson retired last year and replacing a pair who took 1,308 Test wickets between them was never going to be an easy task.

England's plan to rely on express pace has been hampered by injuries to Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Olly Stone and, more recently, Brydon Carse.

Showing a degree of flexibility in their thinking beyond the use of sheer pace, England have now picked uncapped Essex paceman Sam Cook to face Zimbabwe.

Cook has taken 321 first-class wickets at an impressive average of under 20 without being lightning fast.

Zak Crawley averages 30.51 in 53 Tests, with just four hundreds. These are modest figures for an opening batsman, with Crawley struggling badly on the recent tour of New Zealand.

Yet England coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes have kept faith in the stylish 27-year-old.

The aggressive way he bats fits in well with the team's attacking 'Bazball' approach to Test cricket and he has the capacity to build big innings, with a double century to his name.

Ollie Pope, so long England's preferred option at number three, is another batsman badly in need of a big score.

Pope deserves credit for taking on a position that star batsman Joe Root does not like, but an average of just over 34 from 55 Tests is testament to a career that has blown hot and cold.

It is asking a lot to expect Root and rising star Harry Brook to keep bailing England out.

Runs at the top of the order will be vital in their quest to build towards the series against a powerful India team and top-ranked Australia.

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