Should England make any changes for the final Test?

I wrote a piece on this for the Guardian website outlining potential candidates (I mentioned both Ramps and Caddick); from responses, a lot of people would like to see Denly in, while Prior hasn't convinced many people.

He will of course play the final Test, but he has only scored runs against a poor Windies side (he may yet prove me wrong) while his keeping is very iffy, probably worse than Geraint Jones'.

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third-umpire.com

I forgot about Broad, and I think his bowling would suit the oval better. We won't need two swing bowlers there I don't think. Bopara is in the best form of this career so far, and Shah is looking good again. I think Strauss needs a rest from international cricket and it's too early for Denly. Having said all that it's too much of a risk for the final test match, the days of England playing guys in the oval test match who might not make the winter tours are long gone thank god. My team :-

Cook, Strauss, Vaughan, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior, Broad, Tremlett, Sidebottom, Panesar

Unless Hoggard makes a quick recovery, I think that's the team they'll select as well.

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Freddie Flintoff=God

Nice piece.

Strauss was never 100% convincing even when in form... and the case for promoting Vaughan, moving Bell to 3 is worth exploring.

I hope Prior is now history... but am not convinced the selectors would pick anyone any better even if they took the obvious course in relation to the coach's protege.

On the bowling front... the Oval surely demands consideration of a second spinner: the chances of a bunch of seamer (any seamers, from any Test nation) dominating the bat seem exceptionally slim... so maybe Brown's time has come.

Any even vaguely competent batting unit ought to dominate at the Oval... so if Hoggard is fit I'd be inclined to back the following Xii:

Cook, Vaughan, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Shah, Read / Foster, Tremlett, Hoggard, Sidebottom, Panesar, Brown

If the batting conditions looked excellent I'd seriously consider leaving out Shah.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And just to emphasise the point: no. I would not give Denly a run out in the Test arena until the New Zealand tour or the return leg at the very earliest. He still has a couple of technical flaws that need correcting; in the county arena. Whilst Cook and Denly will undoubtedly be a great opening pair in the future, the time has not arrived; not yet.

As do I... but I think we both know that isn't going to happen either.

Dare I ask Rach, but which Brown do you mean? If it's the one I think you mean, then I don't agree - someone like Keedy would be more likely. As for Hoggard, the TMS team today were remarking that unless he goes out on loan to another county, he'd be going into the final Test with precisely no match practice. Not something I'd be too happy with given the magnitude of the Test for England.

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"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose."
- Ayrton Senna

England simply aren't going to play two spinners in a four man attack, and are not gonna weaken the batting further. To be honest, there is no spinner I'd like to see: Keedy strikes me as being the best, but can't bat and is another left-armer.

I would probably just bring in Shah for Bell (with reluctance) and Broad for Anderson. If it was up to me, I'd drop Prior for Foster, too - but that just isn't going to happen.

Anyway, if we have gained one thing from this series it seems to be the emergence of Tremlett.

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third-umpire.com

One weakness which both teams have is their weak tails. The batting is virtually nothing once the 6th wicket goes down.

India might want to consider Yuvraj Singh at No:6 in place of Laxman. The latter was unimpressive in his 50 odd at Trent Bridge and YS's left arm spin could be useful at the Oval. As for the main bowling, Sreesanth should be rested for more than one reason, but India are scraping the bottom of the barrel here. I don't think either Agarkar or Pathan are in the main team....either would have provided a useful alternative while strengthening the batting tail.

For England, Hoggard's fitness could make a difference. I believe that he can cause problems to the Indian batsmen, but if he is unavailable, then it probably will be Broad instead of Anderson.

I don't no how Rikki Clarke been doing this season. But what about him for Bell?
You have than got an allrounder okay not a very good allrounder but he can bat and bowls better than Collingwood. Its a bit of long shot I know.
Or maybe Blackwell instead of Bell.

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"Checkout the big brain on Brett" Pulp Fiction

Agreed, its a non option.

I agree with that though i wouldnt be reluctant to drop Bell, he deserves it! I would be tempted to bring in Bopara for Strauss, but at least in the last 2 matches he has scored some runs however iffy he may have looked getting them.

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Mark.

What's the big deal with Bell: he looks set (along with Cook and Pietersen) to be a cornerstone of the side for a decade. I don't see a problem with him whatsoever. I've no problem with Vaughan or Collingwood either.. though the latter would be the most vulnerable of that quintet as he's considerably less classy than the others.

Strauss is surely the only batsmen who might be coming under pressure... but even he should retain his place until someone else makes an unanswerable case.

ps. The only thing Rikki Clarke has going for him is youth.. meaning the time to start showing unexpected potential: right now he should be way, way, WAY down the pecking order... somwhere behind Joyce, Shah, Compton, twenty other honest county pros and probably many more after that.

I'm not convinced Bell IS that classy. An average of now barely 40 and quite a few ducks shows he isnt that good. He nearly always fails when the pressure is really on (his pair at the Oval '05 and his duck yesterday spring to mind). If he plays at the Oval and doesnt perform then he must lose his starting place for the Sri Lanka leg of the winter tour.

Oh and i would reckon that Joyce has about as much chance of getting an England call up as Rikki Clarke.

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Mark.