MOEEN'S BOLD CALL FOR HOSTS' SPOT OF BOTHER

AFTER a period of relative calm, England are suddenly back to churning through incumbents at No3 every bit as quickly as Downing Street does at No10.

- Malik Ouzia

Ollie Pope's promotion at the start of last summer had brought stability to what had been a revolving-door position for almost a decade, the Surrey batter's 15 consecutive starts at first-drop providing the longest run of consistency since Jonathan Trott flew home from the Ashes in 2013.

Pope was the 15th man to attempt to fill the post-Trott void, but after his shoulder injury at Lord's, the 16th, Harry Brook, lasted only one innings, leaving England lining up at Old Trafford this morning for a must-win Ashes Test with one of the more unlikely predecessors back in post.

From Test retiree little more than a month ago to a dual role as frontline spinner and top order bat, Moeen Ali has been cast as something of a self-sacrificial lamb in his new role, putting himself forward for the post after recognising that no one else could, or should, or wants to.