John Simpson has his say on future of England's Test wicketkeeping position

Ollie Robinson, James Rew, Jamie Smith, Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow have all been suggested as potential Test wicketkeeping options this summer

Sussex red-ball captain John Simpson has admitted he feels the role of wicketkeeper in England's Test side is being "diminished" as he assessed the options available to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Rob Key, managing director of the England men's team, recently stressed that red-ball form is not the only way into the Test side.

That has opened the door to the suggestion that Lancashire man Phil Salt - yet to play in this season's County Championship due to IPL and England T20 commitments - could take the gloves, with the likes of Somerset's James Rew, Surrey's Jamie Smith and Durham's Ollie Robinson also touted for the role off the back of performances in the county game.

Simpson, who played three ODIs in 2021, explained that, although each man comes with their own strengths, in his view incumbent wicketkeeper Ben Foakes remains the best option.

^{Ben Foakes kept wicket for England on their tour of India (Getty Images)}

"Rob Key and Brendon McCullum haven't come out and said we're going to back [Ben Foakes]," Simpson told The Cricketer's County Conversation podcast.

Related: Listen to Simpson on The Cricketer's County Conversation here

"Sitting and reading from afar, it's like, who's the next cab off the rank? Whether that's James Rew, whether that's Jamie Smith, whether that's Ollie Robinson, whether that's potentially Phil Salt.

"Those are sort of four guys who have been touted to take Ben's place; whether they go back to giving Jonny Bairstow the gloves.

"There's no doubt Ben's the best keeper of the lot; whether it's his batting or his style of batting clearly doesn't fit into what Brendon and Ben [Stokes] want in terms of style of play."

Simpson, who said that he hoped Foakes was given another opportunity to make his mark this summer, added: "I guess from a keeping perspective the role is being slightly diminished, because we want guys to go out there and score a shed load of runs at a decent lick.

"The hardest thing is to measure the opportunities that get grassed, compared to the amount of runs you get - it’s always going to be the most difficult statistic you can compare."

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