The time looks right for England to take a chance on Josh Bohannon

The first big call of Ben Stokes’ captaincy has shone the spotlight on what is again likely to be the biggest problem position in England’s ever fragile top order.

Stokes’ decision to move Joe Root back to No 4 leaves a gaping hole in the No 3 slot the former captain had filled in the Caribbean.

That means the captain, new managing director Rob Key and whoever becomes the Test coach later this week — almost certainly Gary Kirsten — face a tricky search for the best candidate ahead of the first Test of the new era against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2.

It is a big call and the direction England go in will say much about the new regime’s approach to lifting the Test side from the near rock bottom of just one win in the last 17 games.

Dawid Malan was perhaps unlucky to miss out on the West Indies tour and is as well qualified as anyone for the No 3 role. But if England go back to a player approaching his 35th birthday it will not back up their encouraging positive early declarations of intent.

The more imaginative choice would be to hand a debut to Lancashire’s Josh Bohannon, who already has a Championship double- hundred under his belt this season and is a genuine No 3 compared to other square pegs for this particular round hole.

England are also looking for a No 5 now Stokes has decided he can best bring his all-round game to the fore from one place lower in the order, even though, as he showed with that remarkable assault on Worcestershire, No 6 is almost a waste of his immense batting talent.

Such are the number of options for the role, both already experienced with England and also emerging in the domestic game, that Key talked in Sportsmail to Nasser Hussain last week of a ‘middle order log jam’. Dan Lawrence is the