England's reliable new Volvo

There is an odd, febrile atmosphere in English cricket at present. It feels like the day after the revolution: the guilty are being rounded up and guillotined. And if a few innocents happen to be rounded up with them, so be it.

How else could it be that Gary Ballance, after an outstanding start to his Test career, could feel under pressure going into the second innings of this Test? How else is it that some could be speculating that his position was in jeopardy?

That is Gary Ballance who came into this game with a Test batting average of 60.75. Gary Ballance who scored three centuries in seven Tests last summer. Gary Ballance who filled the considerable hole left by Jonathan Trott and seems to have the temperament, the technique and the time - he is only 25 - to continue to fill it for much of the next decade.

The problem for Ballance, and several others, is perception. The reputation of England cricket is currently so low that everything associated with it risks contamination.

To some extent that is understandable. England cricket is still, probably incorrectly, judged on Ashes results and the last series was a humiliating whitewash. They were also wretched at the World Cup.

Furthermore, some of the more visible members of the administration have behaved in an arrogant, high-handed way without demonstrating the competence to match: think of the "outside cricket" media release and the handling of the Kevin Pietersen affair as examples.

But we need to take a step back and reflect on the difference between young players and the board that pays them; the difference between an England of Giles Clarke and Paul Downton and an England of Gary Ballance and James Tredwell. And the difference between limited-overs and Test cricket.

Because somewhere, far below the headlines made by the Pietersen saga, far quieter than the cries for the head of Peter Moores or Alastair Cook, clouded by the debate about successors and leaks from Lord's, an exciting new England Test team is emerging.

It is a team containing Ben Stokes, arguably the most exciting young allrounder in the world; Joe Root, a prolific batsman who, at 24, has the world at his feet; Jos Buttler, an outrageous talent with the bat and, standing back at least, a vastly improved keeper; Moeen Ali, an allrounder whose batting you want to take for a weekend in Paris; and, right in the middle of it, Gary Ballance.

Ballance lacks the glamour of some of the others. He is the Volvo to their Jaguar. Not quite as exciting, perhaps. But reliable. Sturdy. Guaranteed for 10 years and, actually, a bit quicker than you think. His ability to cut almost any delivery - at times it drove West Indies to the brink of despair - his hunger for runs, his love of batting. There is just a hint of Jacques Kallis about him. And praise comes little higher.

There is a danger that this innings will be dismissed as it was "just" against West Indies. But when he came in, Jerome Taylor was in the midst of an outstanding spell of bowling and a Test was in the balance. He left the ball astutely, defended compactly and showed glimpses of his "other gear" when accelerating towards setting up the declaration. It was selfless, composed and reassuring. He earned the opportunity to bat against tired bowlers and an old ball by seeing off both when they were new.

"Coming in when the seam bowlers have done well up front, swinging the ball at pace, is always tough," he said. "So I had to fight hard yesterday. I probably looked a bit scratchy, but I was able to kick on and to get a hundred in the second innings is huge.

"I would like to have thought after last summer I was settled in the number three spot but I guess that's international sport. I didn't come here thinking if I had a bad game I was going to get dropped. I came here trying to win games for England.

"It's obviously been a tough winter for myself and the team. I've found there is pressure playing international cricket, but four bad innings at the World Cup doesn't make you a bad cricketer."

It is odd that Ballance felt under any pressure. He had, after all, experienced only one poor Test innings in his last nine. But the punch of the air and sustained celebration when he reached three-figures told their own story; clearly the run of low scores - albeit in a different format of the game - have been weighing heavy on him.

Equally, England's seven-month break from Test cricket, has resulted in some forgetting the fact that they have actually won their last three matches and that Ballance performed well in them. The World Cup debacle and administrative shambles have overshadowed everything, but actually their Test ranking - No.3 - remains respectable.

Ballance was not given the best chance to succeed in the World Cup. Having not been included in the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour, he won a recall to the squad after Alastair Cook's sacking but was unable to take part in the tri-series after sustaining a hand injury at the start of the tour. Then, thrown into the opening game of the World Cup despite little meaningful cricket before hand, he struggled. And as the struggle continued, so his confidence ebbed.

"Getting an injury early on didn't help because I went into the tour feeling very good," he explained. "Then, in the first game, against Australia, we were chasing 350 so I had to get on with it and didn't get a score. Then you don't score again and you start to feel the pressure of the World Cup."

But whether Ballance turns out to be a successful ODI cricketer should have little bearing on his Test career. Indeed, given England's exhausting schedule, the chance to focus on one format might extend his career.

Whatever England's problems - and whatever the anger towards the ECB - the likes of Ballance show a new, admirable Test side is emerging. As young players they will sometimes err and sometimes fail. But it would be folly to jettison them as a reaction to impatience with the board. They are the future. And they are a more entertaining, more likeable, more exciting future than many might have noticed amid the din.