England vs. Australia Cricket 2013: New Blood That Can Be Tested Against Ireland

Much has been made of England's decision to rest key players for the upcoming One-Day International with Ireland. However, in the light of the different format it seems like a perfectly rational time to test out some fresh faces.

Ian Bell, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and James Anderson will all miss the Ireland game along with captain Alastair Cook. Instead, there are several uncapped players included. 32-year-old Michael Carberry gets a nod alongside the likes of Jamie Overton and former Ireland international Boyd Rankin.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was critical of the decision via his Twitter account, citing fan disappointment as a reason why the best players should always be included. This drew the ire of Broad, who responded in kind:

Vaughan's stance is understandable. After all, if you pay for premium seats to a cricket match you expect to see the top players. However, it's actually a great opportunity to see the future of English cricket develop on the big stage.

Kevin Pietersen is still there—arguably England's most entertaining batsman anyway—and Jonathan Trott, Joe Root and Steven Finn also get the chance to play themselves back into form. Root's impressive 90 in the Twenty20 game against Australia was an encouraging sign, but the uncapped players remain the most intriguing.

Michael Carberry, in particular, deserves his chance to grab an England cap. He scored over 500 runs in the domestic T20 campaign, forcing his way into contention for England selection.

While it might seem a late time to introduce a player—at 32 years old—it goes to show that players are still selected solely on merit. Australia's Chris Rogers will testify to the power of perseverance.

Rankin is also an interesting player. A 6'8” paceman in the mould of Steven Finn, he took a wicket on his T20 debut against New Zealand and will be looking to play his way into contention for a regular spot.

Writing for the Birmingham Mail, Dougie Brown stated his belief that Rankin could be a formidable weapon for England as they bid to retain the Ashes in Australia this winter. The hard, bouncy Aussie wickets would certainly seem to favour him, but he has to prove himself in his home country first. 

Jamie Overton has just broken into the Somerset first team—along with his twin brother Craig—so this will be another big step up for him.

However, in an interview with the Western Daily Press, Somerset director of cricket Dave Nosworthy was confident that the 19-year-old fast bowler could handle it. He compared his ascent to that of Dale Steyn:

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I wouldn’t say it was a surprise that Jamie was called up, because it has been mooted and there have been a few discussions going on. But it is quite early for him.

That said, I have seen it before with young fast bowlers with massive potential being fast-tracked to the top level and given that sort of exposure early on.

I remember another international team doing the same thing with a young seam bowler from my Titans team—a guy called Dale Steyn, who is now one of the best bowlers in the world.

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If there is a criticism to be made of this sudden emphasis on new players, it's that Jonny Bairstow should have been afforded the chance to get his game into shape. Bairstow looked woefully out of touch during the Test series, with his tendency to play across straight balls consistently exposed.

He had to fight for every run that he got, so a limited-overs game would have given him the chance to open his shoulders a bit.

Nevertheless, a game in which England test out new, hungry players promises to be much more exciting than one in which safe performers go through the motions before resuming battle with Australia in the next Twenty20 match.

Just don't tell Michael Vaughan.