James Vince fails to win the fight against his better instincts to leave England hopes hanging in the balance

NICK HOWSON AT THE KIA OVAL: The Hampshire captain delivers another innings to flamboyance and class which ends in frustration. Will it be enough to convince the selectors again?

The Kia Oval (day one of four): Hampshire 222-7 v Surrey

Scorecard

It was Ernest Hemingway who observed that the way to make people trust-worthy, is to trust them. Even though the era-defining writer was a fledgeling sportsman, it is unlikely he ever envisaged such a line could be directly linked to English cricket.

Having tried and tested dozens of batsman across the last seven years, trust is the one thing the England selectors are quickly running out of. The men's team has chewed up and spat out droves of batsman since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, offering a warped view that county cricket is offering an inadequate path into the international game.

Indeed, the plight of the current England line-up, the faith in players of this level and the dearth of options available is so stark that players who have previously failed at the elite level have been recycled, just to make sure. Gary Ballance and Keaton Jennings are among those to have been given multiple bites at the cherry but to no avail. 

James Vince could argue that he is the next batsman who could be plucked from that particular carousel. The Hampshire man has played 13 Tests in the last three-and-a-half years, though he not featured since March 2018, with his undoubted talent and stroke-making ability ensuring he will always be part of the conversation.

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The problems encountered by Joe Root's side with the bat means there is a continual dialogue over the personnel and configuration of the line-up. And nearly five weeks on from the last proper round of Championship matches this is the first opportunity since the Ashes started to infiltrate that discussion against reigning Division One champions Surrey.

Thanks to the brief south London rain, by the time Vince has the chance to bolster his claim a host of his rivals have already failed. Dom Sibley made a duck for Warwickshire, while Kent's Zak Crawley made just five. The even the more reliable Ballance was out for a blob.

Even the methodical Sam Northeast, another possible England star of the future was soon back in the hutch after joining Vince, with Hampshire 116 for 3. It was left to the 28-year-old, batting at No.3, to lead a rebuild with resilience and character hardly among the traits in his armoury.

He had already started with typically flamboyant fashion, with three boundaries off a single over from Morne Morkel, as close as you'll get to an international quality bowler in Division One. They were shots which summed up his ability in a nutshell. The first was carved through cover, a stand and deliver hammer blow which highlighted his willingness to throw his hands at the ball.

The second was a beautiful on-drive, timed perfectly as he stepped forward to the former South Africa seamer. He finished the over with a third boundary, another fine shot as the runs flowed at a by-now sun-drenched Kia Oval.

Another four hammered through deep extra cover off Rikki Clarke followed to take him to his joint-highest first-class score of the season of 40, having averaged just 18.66 up until this point. But typically for the Hampshire skipper, such stroke-play soon made way for complacency.

^{Morne Morkel extracted James Vince after one chance too many}

The England World Cup winner should have been dismissed the very next ball, but a woeful slash at a wide one from Clarke was spilt by Scott Borthwick at second slip and away to safety. Six overs and seven runs followed before the inevitable. Morkel bowled a tight-line, Vince tried a drive that was never on and Ben Foakes scooped up the edge.

Shane Warne famously said of Monty Panesar that he had not played 33 Tests, but his first Test 33 times. Though it would be harsh to claim that with a first-class record 24 centuries and 35 fifties Vince has done the same, but his career is a catalogue of promise and crushing disappointment. This 47 could happily operate at his epitaph.

Ed Smith's preference for talent over application means the gate, much like his technique, will always be open for Vince. His involvement in the World Cup, albeit in the form of some abject displays, suggests he remains in vogue. And with England showing few signs of providing calm at the top of the order, the search to discover that will continue. Selector James Taylor's eyes were on this game, rather than the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's, such is the relentlessness of that particular pursuit.

Vince continues to astonish and bemuse in equal measure. Whether England are drawn to that particular flame remains to be seen, but it is a soap opera which keeps on giving.

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