Look on the bright side: Lewis is a like for like replacement of similar calibre (and presumably the back-up for Hoggard for the Ashes) - if he gets more International cricket as a result of this then great :-)

Come on Rachael, how can you say that Lewis is a bowler of a similar calibre to Hoggard? We have seen nothing from Lewis to indicate that he can consistently take test match wickets. We have seen this from Hoggard.

Lewis has played one test match, Hoggard 54. For every test match wicket Lewis has taken, Hoggard can boast over 70! Hoggard has proved time and time again that he can take wickets and has risen to arguably the most competent swing bowler in the world. Hoggard - over the past year or so - has showed that he can act as a spearhead for the England team taking 58 wickets @ 26.10 in 2005 (strike rate 42.2) and 28 @ 21.46, going at less than 2.5 an over having bowled over 240 overs, in 2006 with a strike rate of 52.0.

How you can justify Lewis can even be considered a 'like for like replacement of similar calibre' to Hoggard, I'll never know.

There is no real bright side, we need our current best bowler fit and taking the wickets he always does. Lewis has far to go in a small space of time - he's already one year Hoggard's senior - before he can leave a side unweakened after replacing Hoggard. It's a huge loss for England if Hoggard can't make any test in the forthcoming series.

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Whatever your difficulties in mathematics, I can assure you mine are far greater!
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

Jamie "Deadly" Dalrymple is continuing to impress, bagging Inzi for a duck (c Loudon) and claiming his second wicket from 7 overs for only 7 runs! Pakistan 134/4, Broad and Bresnan with one wicket apiece and nothing yet from the Hogster after the farce earlier on!

A flat wicket and the two spinners are in the wickets - there is hope for Monty.

Dalrymple has 3 to his name

Loudon has just the 1 from only six overs.

216-6 and England A might contemplate enforcing the follow-on.

PAK getting well and truly thrashed here; carry on playing with this woeful ineptitude and they will get a 4-0 drubbing, weather permitting. And the surprising thing (okay, not that surprising if you actually follow Pakistan) is that the openers, the alleged weak link, have done okay; its the middle order that has collapsed. And that's before we talk about the apparently atrocious bowling by the likes of Kaneria, Asif, Sami and Gul. Can they all claim they are short of match practice? The batsmen probably are, especially Inzi, Yousaf and Kamran. But the bowlers? Many of them have just come from lengthy stints at various counties, so the lack of match practice excuse won't wash.

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A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
Mark Twain

Just send out the 'A' Team, forget the main team! But I am sure Pakistan will up their game for the test series. Out of all the players we have seen in this game, who would you say deserves to be in the full team? I would say Robert Key, he is proving to be a useful captain, plus his century. Read and Dalrymple are doing well also, but if you had the choice, would you play Dalrymple or Key in the England squad? Finally, after Reads first Innings ton, he is looking better than jones, but its early days yet. Will he get another decent score in the second innings, we'll have to wait and see.

Read and Dalrymple should be ahead of Key, as they fill a natural "vacancy" in the side, whereas Key will be aiming to compete with the likes of Cook, Bell, Collingwood et al, who all have equally good, if not better, cases for selection. Assuming that all of Tresco, Strauss and KP are fit and selected, only two batting spots would be up for grabs, and by rights, Collingwood should get one of them. Which means that it is one of Key, Bell or Cook for the last remaining spot!

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A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
Mark Twain

Trescothick
Cook
Strauss
Pietersen
Collingwood
Dalrymple (Has a first class 200)
Read
Broad
Harmison
Hoggard (I'm sure he will be fine but I'll be as sick as a dog if Lewis is chosen)
Panesar

And the problem for the selectors is that just about all of them are worthy of a place. Cook has proven he can perform at Test level, while Bell and Key have got big scores in this match. Collingwood is one of those players who is just about a dead cert for a place.

Key's ton was his first of the season, so that could well rule him out, leaving Bell and Cook for the last spot. And Bell was involved in the Ashes series last year, so... well England selectors logic should mean Bell gets the last spot!

Broad bowled well and should be in the running for a place, however given England's injury worries with pacemen and Pakistan's alleged difficulty against spin, we should use two spinners. So a bowling lineup of Broad, Hoggard (if passed fit), Harmison, Dalrymple and Panesar would be the preferred option IMO.

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

I think that would be a very good reason to keep Bell out of the side, but then again "England selectors logic"

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Ern