England and Australian teams gear up for fifth Test

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): To produce a pitch that favors the star opposition bowler is careless. To switch pitches and then lose by an innings and 61 runs is downright negligent. Few victories will have tasted sweeter than that which the Australians achieved in the fourth Test at Headingley earlier in the week.

There can be little doubt that the object in using the alternative pitch was to blunt the effectiveness of leg-spinner, Shane Warne. The decision was a partial success in that he took only one wicket in the match. The calculations, however, took no account of the tourists three other bowlers -- McGrath, Gillespie and Reiffel -- who were a country mile better than their English counterparts.

A point that Australian captain, Mark Taylor, eluded to in his post-match comments. "I've said for a long time that we are not just a two man side (Steve Waugh and Shane Warne) we can win when our stars don't play well.

"We have got some good talent in our batting, and Ricky Ponting took his chance well. When Jason Gillespie gets its right he is very dangerous."

After the victory at Old Trafford, Taylor said Australia were operating around 90 per cent capacity and that the best was yet to come. The scorecard for the fourth Test would suggest that he was perhaps being a little generous in his percentages.

For despite winning by a massive margin for the second consecutive Test, Mark Waugh, arguably the best batsman in the side, certainly the most stylish, failed again and has yet to make a significant contribution with the bat.

Add this to Warne's modest performance, and the fact that the world's number one ranked bowler, Glenn McGrath, took just four wickets, and there would indeed seem more to come from the tourists.

After the fiasco at Headingley, the pitch requirements for the remaining Test at Trent Bridge and the Oval should (not least because England has tried everything else) be hard, fast and favor the batsmen for the first summer. Welcome news this for Waugh, so too for Warne and McGrath who will revel in the extra bounce.

To regain the Ashes, which is still mathematically possible, England must win the remaining two Tests. In the aftermath of Headingley, Mike Atherton was quick to point out the short comings of the latest defeat.

"It's a tale of missed opportunities. The door was half open for us when they were 50 for four but we failed to get through.

"I was hoping we could get a score that was competitive but we were up against it. It's about taking opportunities and in the last two games we haven't."

Speculation now centers upon possible change to the England's side for the fifth Test. With a tour of the West Indies this winter, the remaining games represent the ideal opportunity to blood new talent before the trench warfare of the Caribbean.

The problem for the selectors is that few players actually warrant consideration. Mike Smith forced his way into the team by sheer number of wickets, but looked out of his depth in the Test arena.

The Hollioke brothers have their share of supporters throughout the country as indeed does the current Middlesex captain, Mark Ramprakash. The extra bounce in the wickets at Trent Bridge and the Oval will bring Andrew Caddick and Devon Malcolm back into the frame, so too that of the left-arm spinner Philip Tufnell.

With another modest performance behind the stumps and precious few runs with the bat, there is a case for resting Alec Stewart. The dilemma here, though, is that there are very few on the county circuit of sufficient talent to replace him.

All of which suggests a few sleepless nights for the England selectors in between now and the start of the fifth Test at Trent Bridge on Aug. 7