Former Ashes batters in contention for England recall

England coach Chris Silverwood says his "mind is open to all suggestions" for players who can solve their batting struggles, with Dawid Malan and James Vince both in contention to return to the Test set-up.

England will soon announce a squad for next week's third Test against India at Headingley, with out-of-form opener Dom Sibley under pressure to hold his spot having averaged just 19 in 10 Tests this year.

Having already axed Zak Crawley for the second Test, dropping Sibley could see the recently recalled Haseeb Hameed move up the order and open the innings, which would leave a vacancy at No.3.

Malan and Vince have been part of England's white-ball squads in recent years but neither have played Test cricket since 2018 and both men average less than 30 in the longest format.

However, the fact both have played Test cricket in Australia before could work in their favour given a return down under for the Ashes is only months away.

Malan's only Test century came in Perth in 2017, while Vince also played all five Tests of the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia, posting a top score of 83 in Brisbane.

Asked if it's too late to recall either player given the Ashes are so close, Silverwood replied: "It could still work.

"It's not like I'm not in touch with these guys. I've seen them over the various formats and my relationship with these guys is very good. I'm quite close to them so I wouldn't say you can't do it.

"You've got to do what's best for the team, ultimately. I'm lucky in the fact that, working over all formats, I get to know these guys well. I've got a relationship with them that would already be an existing relationship to work from if I brought them in."

On Sibley's immediate future, Silverwood replied: "It's certainly something we'll talk about.

"As I've said all along, I'd rather give somebody one too many chances than not enough, and we have invested in people, we have given people plenty of opportunity. Clearly I don't want to go in and start ripping things up but at some point we have to think about manoeuvring things a little bit to try to find a better balance when something's not working.

"I've got to keep my eyes and ears open, and my mind open to all suggestions. It's certainly things that we'll be talking about in selection. I've got to be open minded to whichever suggestions are thrown forward, and obviously my own opinions will get shared during that meeting."

Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence have also played Test cricket in the middle order this summer, while Silverwood indicated a return for allrounder Ben Stokes – who is currently taking a break for mental health reasons – is unlikely to happen to next week.

England's already decimated pace stocks could also be compounded by a shoulder injury to Mark Wood, who will have further assessment ahead of the third Test.

Wood landed heavily on his right shoulder in the field on day four at Lord's and while he bowled a hostile spell on day five, was in obvious discomfort.

Already without Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Olly Stone due to injury, England will be desperately hoping Wood is fit to play at Headingley, although they won't take too many risks given he looms as a pivotal player on Australian pitches this summer.

"The medics are working on him," Silverwood said. "I will give him every chance to be fit, but at the same time, I will have to look after him as well.

"It is massively important we look after Woody. He is a prized asset. We have found ourselves in the position, when you lose Archer and Stone, we have got one guy left that can bowl that fast."

Craig Overton or Saqib Mahmood could come into the side if Wood is ruled out.