England are Unbelievable!
The loss at Headingley was so shocking for England that they are now in a situation where they have no idea what to do.
Actually more than the loss, it was the manner of the defeat that pushed the panic button in the England camp.
Getting knocked over for 102 in 34 overs and then reeling at 82-5, before they were saved by the tail, has made the English believe that their batsmen are no good.
So much so that they are considering replacing a couple of them with the likes of Mark Ramprakash and Marcus Trescothick.
The fact that Ramprakash and Trescothick were even brought up by the selectors goes to show how flustered they are after the defeat in the 4th Ashes test.
Before the 4th test, England were sitting pretty with a 1-0 lead in the series. Not only that, they even looked like the better team between the two.
It is astonishing to see how one defeat can change so much.
What has shocked me is that instead of looking ahead, England are looking into the past.
Sure Ramprakash is God in the county circuit and Trescothick is also more than decent with the bat, but don't England have some talented young and upcoming batsmen?
Is there no promising talent in the country circuit that England can turn to?
It surprised me that after Pietersen's injury, they turned to Ian Bell. Is there no one else worthy of a place in the England line up?
Where are the batsmen?
If there really isn't anyone then why stop at Ramprakash and Trescothick; think of Michael Vaughan; think of two men that sit and criticize from the Sky commentary box - Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton; think of Mark Butcher (didn't he save or win an Ashes test with a huge century?); hell think of Alec Stewart!
All those cricketers are able batsmen; pick one for the number 3 slot, another for number 4, and you'll have an England of the 90s out on the field in an Ashes deciding test.
And we all know how England of the 90s fared in the Ashes, don't we?
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I believe Geoff Boycott is next to get the England call up.
The panic you describe is the media's, not that of the team itself. They only mentioned Ramps and Tres because it is the only question they have been asked for the last week. And all they have said is "we don't rule anybody out", which does not mean they are a shoo-in.
Personally, I suspect you will see minimal changes for the Oval, and definitely not those two. Andy Flower is not the panicking type.
As for the lack of batting alternatives, this is due to the policy in previous years of over-continuity. They have since introduced Bopara, who unfortunately has struggled in this series. Bell & Shah are the only two others who have played a Test in the last 2-3 years.
Rayden,
With the way things are going, its not so far fetched!
GCW,
Sure its the media, but there has to be some ripples going on within the team that the panic has transferred to the media, or is it all created?
I mean the selectors did thinks of Ramps which stirred the media; am I wrong?
You were right in saying minimal changes for the Oval.. the only one seems to be Trott for Bopara.. and Freddy will come in.. which is not that much of a panicky shake up..
But despite all this, why the lack of talented batsmen that get int'l call ups?