If It Broke Fix It !!

Not sure if that follows from its more popular negated version but I think that's what the English selectors should have done when they sat down to pick the squad for the second Ashes Test. Instead, theyv'e "displayed confidence" in the squad of players that has "been doing SO well" for the last year or so.

I think this is going to backfire. For there are obvious weaknesses in this English batting lineup. To avoid defeat against Australia, the batting needs to fire big time and that means that a LOT of things need to go right all at the same time. A LOT. Firstly, Strauss needs to regain his touch as does Vaughan. Bell needs to mature so fast it is almost cruel to expect. Pietersen needs to repeat his Lord's heroics and Freddie somehow has to find a way to play Warne. Now these things may happen and if they do all will click beautifully making me look like a fool BUT I am trying to emphasize that this is a high-risk approach England are taking. They have just the Plan A and no Plan B whatsoever. They simply have no buffer.

No buffer that Graham Thorpe used to provide. My insistence on Thorpe has been well-documented. See here and here. But now that he is no longer there I would have at least gone for Paul Collingwood to lend stability to the lineup. He is in fine form having scored 3 hundreds last week - 2 in a match. He looked the part in his sole test and he has also had a very good Natwest series.

Throughout the 90's the England team suffered from the pick-and-drop approach. Now they are erring on the other side of the spectrum. They are resisting change to what I think is only a moderately good batting lineup and refusing to be flexible. That is not the approach that is going to be of any help in halting the Aussies.