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Sam Robson is expected to be called up to the Test squad after eight years

Middlesex captain Peter Handscomb believes opener Sam Robson, who last played Test cricket in 2014, should be considered for an England recall. 


Robson played seven Test matches for England in 2014, scoring one century and averaging 30.54, and his Middlesex captain Peter Handscomb has backed him to earn a recall.


Following Sir Andrew Strauss' retirement in 2012, England tried a fourth opener, Robson, who was only given a seven-test run in the side. The former English opener scored a century and a half-century against Sri Lanka and India and finished the summer with a below-par Test average of 30.54.


He was dropped for the following series against the West Indies and has not played for England since then. In that time, England has tried out 15 specialist openers (excluding Sir Alastair Cook), with only Joe Denly's average being slightly higher than Robson's.


Robson, who is now 32 years old, has a lot more experience and was Middlesex's third leading run scorer in the County Championship last year, with 1047 runs at an average of 40.26. Handscomb predicted Robson would earn an international recall after a brilliant 149 against Sussex in the latest round of the County Championship.


To the ECB Reporters Network, Handscomb said, "I think there needs to be conversations about Sam Robson playing for England again. The team looks like it's going through a restructure and Robbo has been putting it together for three or four years now. We've already seen that he can make runs opening for England."


Before the new season began, Robson stated that he would "love" to return to the England Test squad. "In the first couple of years after England, maybe I thought about it a bit too much at times instead of just going out there and playing," he told the Cricketer.


"It's in the back of your mind all the time – I'd be lying if I said it wasn't – but now it's not something that I really analyse or think much about. I'd love to play for England again. As long as I'm playing first-class cricket, that is something I'll always be striving for, regardless of whether a player's 25 or 35. I think that should always be in the back of your mind."