 | Recalling Brett Lee would be an enormous risk even in a five-man attack |
Andrew Strauss gives little away on the eve of Test matches, and certainly would not be drawn on his final line-up, but he did reveal that Andrew Flintoff will not be rested here. In other words, if Flintoff is fit, he plays; if not, he doesn't. That rules out one of the several options open to England. They might have been tempted to play Jonathan Trott, give Flintoff a breather and play four bowlers - that combination is often enough at Headingley - and I suspect that should Flintoff pull out, that is what they will do. But, one win away from reclaiming the Ashes, Strauss wants to keep the momentum going England's way. It is always impossible to predict the way conditions will determine the likely course of events here. The weather forecast isn't bad - some rain has to clear on the first morning, but then it is essentially dry and bright. That will reinforce Graeme Swann's hopes of retaining his place, despite a poor performance on the final day at Edgbaston. There will be a lot of attention on the way the crowd behaves after the disgraceful booing of Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, at Birmingham. Strauss has asked the fans to show respect. It will be interesting to see if the rowdy elements in the notorious West Stand heed his words - there is nothing wrong with some gentle and humorous "Aussie baiting" which, after all, is what we get whenever we go to Australia. | 606: DEBATE |
But the booing of one of the finest batsmen in the game is entirely unacceptable. I suspect that Ponting has other things on his mind at the moment. He must urgently address the shortcomings of his bowling attack that was so ruthlessly demolished at Birmingham, and would love to recall Brett Lee. That would be an enormous risk, even in a five-man attack, and unless Ponting dismantles the balance of his team, he will continue to play only four. That must rule Lee out of the reckoning altogether and, instead, Stuart Clark, the experienced seamer, is widely expected to play his first Test of the series as Ponting desperately searches for someone to introduce control. England failed to win at Edgbaston, but looked to be much the more upbeat and confident of the two teams and they will be aware of Headingley's recent record - only one Test of the last 11 has failed to produce a result and six have been won by England. If this one goes England's way this week, the Ashes will be coming home!
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