Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain have singled out Hampshire bowler Sonny Baker as a late contender to be included in England’s Ashes squad to face Australia this winter.

The 22-year-old quick raised his profile with an impressive opening spell for Manchester Originals in The Hundred on Monday as he troubled London Spirit’s high-pedigree opening pairing of David Warner and Kane Williamson.

Baker was given a development central contract by England in February after impressing in his first-class debut on an England Lions tour of Australia at the start of the year.

Having moved to Hampshire from Somerset ahead of the 2025 County Championship season, Baker has taken 19 wickets at an average of 36.1 in six championship appearances.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, former England captain Atherton said: “We both liked watching Sonny Baker the other night at Old Trafford.

“He gave David Warner the hurry up. That in itself is a good sign.

“He’s quite lively and skiddy and sharp, and I know they were very impressed with him in the Lions who went down to Australia last year, so he could be a bit of a bolter for the winter.”

Former England skipper Hussain was similarly impressed by Baker, but questioned whether he is physically prepared for the rigours of Test cricket.

Hussain said: “Anyone that’s got David Warner jumping around, when David Warner has that smirky smile at the end of the five, it’s not because he likes you. It was a ‘crikey, that was pretty good, to be honest,’ smirk and smile, (that Warner) gave Sonny Baker.

“It was hostile stuff. The speed gun may say 86, 87 miles per hour, but sometimes bowlers just feel a bit quicker. And he does seem to feel a bit quicker.

“My only issue is I’ve not seen him enough in long-form cricket to know what will his third, fourth spell be like, how does he come back the next day? But as you say, the reports from the Lions were that he was he was excellent.”

What should Bethell do next?

Atherton and Hussain also discussed the “difficult” situation facing England batter Jacob Bethell as he seeks to rediscover his form after a challenging spell.

The 21-year-old spent the summer as the first back-up batter for England’s Test side, with a decision taken to keep him with the squad throughout the series against India rather than releasing him to play county cricket.

Atherton and Hussain questioned whether Bethell should prioritise playing county cricket at the end of the English summer to prepare for the Ashes, rather than playing white-ball matches for England’s limited overs sides.

Atherton said: “If you look forward, if he’s going to be the spare batter in the Ashes, what do England do now?

“You could make an argument that perhaps playing some 50-over cricket in this period might be better, but obviously you’d want to play The Hundred because you’re getting paid and there’s big crowds and that’s where it is.

“But then after that, should he play championship or should he play white-ball cricket? Because we’ve got some white ball internationals at the end of the season.”

Hussain added: “If I was him, I would probably be looking to play County Championship cricket for Warwickshire at the end of the season, just to get in the rhythm.

“And I know there’s a T20 World Cup coming up and the white ball stuff is hugely important. But he seems to have lost the rhythm of batting.

“He hasn’t got a professional hundred yet. Go and get a professional hundred. I think Warwickshire play Surrey as well. That will be a real good opportunity against a good bowling attack.

“So that’s my personal thinking. Rob Key, selectors, they often get criticised for not focusing in on white ball stuff. They may say, ‘right, we’ve got a World Cup, you need to play more white ball stuff.’ It will be interesting to see.”

Watch every match from The Hundred across the women’s and men’s competitions live on Sky Sports from August 5-31.