England cricket selectors shuffle pack to win 6th test
By Vic Mills
LONDON (JP): The England cricket selectors shuffled the pack once again over the weekend in an effort to end the Ashes series with a victory in the sixth test of the summer starting at The Foster's Oval tomorrow.
The temptation to make wholesale changes was resisted. The one outright casualty from Trent Bridge was John Crawley, although the likelihood, with Alec Stewart set to bat at three, is that Ben Hollioake will also drop out.
Top of the selection agenda was the problem posed by the dual role of Alec Stewart.
The concentration and fatigue involved in keeping wicket and opening the innings was deemed too onerous and not in the interests of either the player or the team.
Stewart will thus bat at three with Mark Butcher returning to partner Michael Atherton. The surprise recall for the Surrey opener is no more than he deserves, although there was fierce competition from Steve James of Glamorgan.
Despite averaging 30.4 in the Test series, Crawley's fall from grace is a direct result of modest first innings performances. In five first innings visits to the wicket this summer he has totaled a meager 26 runs. His place will be taken by Mark Ramprakash.
The return to England colors of the Middlesex captain is the result in-part of another prolific season with the bat. The most elegant batsman of his generation, Ramprakash has matured greatly since taking over the county reins from Mike Gatting.
The selection nevertheless remains something of a gamble, for Ramprakash has always struggled in the Test arena. He was first capped against the West Indies in 1991 and played all six Tests that summer. However, the intervening six years, including four full England tours, have brought just 13 more caps and a dismal 16.65 Test average.
The new England middle order will see Hussain and Thorpe drop down to four and five respectively, Ramprakash return at six, Adam Hollioake bat at seven and Ben Hollioake drop out of the side after just one Test.
Set to remain with the squad as Surrey has no championship game, the prodigiously talented youngster gave further evidence of his potential with runs and wickets in the innings and 125-run defeat of Middlesex at the weekend; a match in which Adam Hollioake hit a career best 182.
Sharp contrast
The improved form and fitness of the England batsmen is in sharp contrast to that of its bowlers. Ruled out on the eve of the Trent Bridge Test, Darren Gough will again be missing at The Oval having suffered a setback during a fitness test Friday.
His absence will mean another reprieve for Devon Malcolm. The big-hearted Derbyshire fast bowler responded with a ten-wicket haul in the recent win over Lancashire that included the wicket in both innings of Michael Atherton.
The other fitness doubt in the England camp is dean Headley. A sore heel kept him out of Kent's recent match against the Australians and the Lancashire medium-fast bowler, Peter Martin, has been added to the party of 14 as cover.
With proven form at The Oval, including a six-wicket bag against the West Indies, Philip Tufnell is set to replace Robert Croft as the one spinner in the side. An ever present squad member this summer, Tufnell has not played a Test since the winter tour to New Zealand.
With the series already decided and Australia weakened by withdrawals, England has an excellent chance of ending a disappointing summer with a victory.
The onus will be on the top order batsmen - with a hard, flat pitch and fast outfield - to post a challenging first innings score and then look to pressurize the Australians with early wickets and close catchers.
The likely England team is: Atherton (captain), Butcher, Stewart, Hussain, Thorpe, Ramprakash, A. Hollioake, Caddick, Headley, Tufnell and Malcolm.