When he's mentally 'wrong', Thorpe's no good

I don't think they should take Thorpe. I know he's England's best batsman and they'll miss him but you want to see everybody treated the same in the side.

You don't want people to be worried about him and wondering if he's going to turn up the following morning.

If you spend so much time worrying about one person and his problems it distracts from the focus of the whole side.

If it knocks a couple of per cent off people's performances over the course of the tour then it's bad news having Thorpe there.

Graeme Fowler, 21 Tests for England and TMS pundit

I don't see how they can take him because he's not played any cricket for so long. I think they should leave him alone and see how he is next year.

The mere fact that he's withdrawn from one-day internationals and withdrawn from Surrey shows he's got enough on his plate to deal with.

I think to play cricket on an Ashes tour is a ridiculous thing to ask him to do in the circumstances.

Mike Selvey, cricket correspondent of the Guardian and TMS pundit

I don't really know what his state of mind is. If everything is hunkydory at home and he's happy with himself then they can pick him.

Highlights include his 200* at Christchurch

If things are not settled at home and he's out of sorts then there's no way they can pick him. But as a tourist, we should remember that he's only been unpredictable in terms of his private life.

Cast your mind back two winters ago and he was the single most important factor in England winning two series abroad.

He's a terrific player and we should remember only a handful of England players have averaged over 40 in the last 10 years.

He's got to be right, but if he's starting to make noises that he may be available then perhaps we will miss him if we don't take him.

Vic Marks, cricket correspondent of the Observer and TMS pundit

It's a bit of a gamble. He's got a bit of a history of bailing out on tour but he's got quite a good record against Australia, and if that's the case then you probably take him.

But the selectors have to be convinced and Graham Thorpe has to be convinced that it's what he really wants to do.

There's no point undertaking a tour of the Ashes which is the toughest tour of all unless you are 100% certain in your mind that you want to be there.

Anything less than that and there's trouble. The last thing you want on a really tough tour is to spend a lot of time agonising over one guy on non-cricketing matters.

Derek Pringle, 30 Tests for England and cricket correspondent of The Daily Telegraph

His playing pedigree is not in doubt but he only plays at his best when his mind is right and focused on cricket, and there appears to be no guarantee of that.

You could say he's done it before, but once the tour's underway and you are playing a Test series if he suddenly ups and offs like he did in India then you've got a problem.

I think the selectors would be taking a gamble, thought it might be a gamble worth taking.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket correspondent of the Times and TMS pundit

If at all possible, I would take Thorpe, simply because he's such a good player.

If we're to have any chance of beating the Australians we need the best players in our side.

Of course it's a risk, but personally I would take him.