Key, Carberry, Ramprakash, Denly? Who will England pick at the Oval for the 5th Ashes test?

There is a school of thought that we have already lost the Ashes, and that Lords was a blip. That particular school will tell you to rip up the teamsheet and start again, maybe even getting rid of Andrew Strauss, whose captaincy has veered between the lucky and the confusing this summer. There is another school of thought (Andrew Strauss's), that says the team should be able to dig itself out of the hole it has dug for itself.

Time, though, is up for Ravi Bopara, a player whom the Australians worked out from the first ball. He has the swagger, so they say, but he's technically exposed, and doesn't have the temperament. They were right, and our selectors were wrong. It's time to acknowledge that, and drop him until he grows up. In his place, I would bring in the fast maturing Michael Carberry. I've watched this lad develop into a solid batsman who doesn't seem fazed by the slightest aggravation. He's an England player for the future, and perhaps for many years.

Time is also up for Ian Bell, who is still as flaky as he ever was. His sublime talent, which is only displayed fleetingly these days, seems to desert him against top-class opposition, and he cannot be in the Oval team for me. In his place, for one test only, I would play Mark Ramprakash. He's the country's number one batsman and he's there to do a job - hold the innings together. That was Pietersen's role, and it will be his role in South Africa.

Paul Collingwood is another who gets away with a timely innings every now and again. He's had another poor summer, looking dreadfully out of shape against the in-swinger, and I'd go for another debutant, Jonathan Trott, who has had a fantastic summer and deserves to step up. Either we have two failures from Collingwood, or we try a future England regular out. Let's show some guts and do it now.

Lords was a blip. In every other test this summer, the Australians have outperformed England, and have taken advantage of the conditions. They also look bang in form, with Stuart Clark returning and bowling superb line and length. Quite why England decided to bowl short all the time is a mystery only Andrew Strauss can answer.

Win the Ashes, and Andrew Strauss will no doubt be lauded as a hero. However, that's highly unlikely now at the Oval against an Australia side that have pulled their socks up, sorted their game out, and are set to take the Ashes home, and deservedly so. So let's take a risk and change that fragile batting line up, it can't get any worse.

published: 10th August 2009 by Free Bet Bookmaker

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