Saying Gus Atkinson is nothing special is a bit harsh as he is a better bowler than Tongue Woakes and Carse with 55 test wickets at an average of 22.30 and also has a test hundred to his name.
There was a stat on TMS and I might not have remembered it exactly, but it was along the lines of 42 single figure scores in 100 innings. That’s atrocious.
Ollie Pope is another one in my opinion who's selection deserves serious scrutiny. He maybe gets one good score per series, but I think the vast majority of his runs have come against much weaker opposition. 57 test matches and a 35 average is poor for a number 3.
Feast or famine with Pope. Big score or very little. I think Crawley’s average is about 31 and given its been 102 innings that is an appalling average for an opener.
Another who barely merits selection for me, out of form with the bat , suspect fitness for bowling and weird decisions as captain.