Fourth Test Preview: England Vs SA

Harmison - back in the side.

The selectors heralded a new dawn in English cricket ahead of the fourth Test at the Oval by appointing Kevin Pietersen as their new captain.

They have not exactly stoked the fires of revolution in the skipper's first squad, however. There was no time to consult on the promised "new direction going forward", so despite another emphatic defeat at Edgbaston only the self-absented Michael Vaughan has gone missing between Birmingham and Kennington. Ravi Bopara, who after a dismal winter in Sri Lanka has this season banged hardest on the closed shop door, steps in to the squad but fails to make the starting XI.

It is possible to argue that all of England's third Test batsmen except Pietersen deserved to be dropped for Thursday - indeed that is one of the key reasons he got the job. As well as England played on days two, three and four they were never favourites after a lamentable first-innings performance. At Headingley they were beaten by a much more comfortable margin - but again only after the batsmen had fallen short on the first day.

Yet openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, the best alternatives to KP as Test skipper, are guaranteed a start. So, too, is Paul Collingwood even though his rearguard century told us nothing we didn't know about an admirable, limited performer. Pietersen said only last month that there is no county batsman to compare with his mates Collingwood and Ian Bell and so dropping either for Bopara would have been a confused start to captaincy.

Strangely the selectors have never felt comfortable enough to give Pietersen the responsibility of batting three but now they have put him in charge of all national sides. The new man does not have to pick up every cross to bear, as Bell replaces Vaughan at first wicket down. Steve Harmison is well suited to the bouncy Oval track and returns at the expense of Ryan Sidebottom, who last weekend was a huge disappointment as the nominal leader of the attack. He seemed a long way short of match fitness, but this is a further indictment rather than any kind of excuse. Any Test team, much less a must-win Test team with only four bowlers, cannot carry passengers.

As at Edgbaston, then, the choice came down to four or five bowlers - i.e. between Bopara and Stuart Broad. Bopara and Collingwood together do still not add up to a full fifth seamer so the Essex man misses out as Pietersen goes for a debut win. The move is no surprise as one senses KP will be an aggressive leader but it is a bold challenge to Andrew Flintoff, who prefers life at number seven. Broad learned a new definition of 'rested' last week, racing up the M42 on Wednesday morning to play for Nottinghamshire. That arduous relaxation is over as he makes a return: he is always a certainty in a five-man attack thanks to the insurance policy of his batting.

For South Africa it couldn't be simpler. One enforced change after five consecutive Tests with the same XI did not faze the visitors in Birmingham. Captain Graeme Smith was almost a second absentee but persevered to produce one of the great fourth-innings knocks in Test history.

His back is still stiff but he will presumably not want to miss the chance to face his old chum Pietersen. If he were to rest up then matters hardly become less awkward: KP has described vice-captain Ashwell Prince's status as "political" in the past, though not since the left-hander cruised ahead of him in the averages this series. If Smith does step aside then JP Duminy will make his debut.

Unless Mickey Arthur and Smith decide to give some other tourists a chance, hardly in the competitive spirit of this formidable team or the wider Test game, there will be no other changes. Andre Nel, predictably ridiculed last week after his 'Gunther' nonsense filled more column inches than Watergate, will continue to deputise for Steyn.

The pace bowler has a broken thumb but is apparently "on track" to play in the one-day matches that follow this dead rubber. Pietersen will be desperate for a winning start of course anyway, but never more so when he considers the gulf in class between the sides in the upcoming NatWest series.

Key Players

England: Is there more than one candidate for this title anymore?

South Africa: The bookies are all but paying out on Morne Morkel for 'series leading wicket-taker' yet if anything has been slightly short-changed: he was the best bowler in the first innings last week and finished wicketless. Worryingly for England, the Oval should suit his steepling bounce best of all.

Prediction

Four draws in the last six at The Oval and neither side has massive hunger for a win: the Saffers are on cruise control while England have picked a team that amounts to a holding pattern.

Last Five Head-to-Head:

2008: 3rd Test: South Africa won by 5 wickets at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
2008: 2nd Test: South Africa won by 10 wickets at Headingley, Leeds.
2008: 1st Test: Match drawn at Lord's, London.
2005: 5th Test: Match drawn at Supersport Park, Centurion.
2005: 4th Test: England won by 77 runs at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

Teams:

England: Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.

South Africa (likely): Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel.

Dates: 7th-11th August - 11:00-13:00 local time (BST), 13:40-15:40 local time (BST), 16:00-18:00 local time (BST).

Match Referees: Jeff Crowe and Ranjan Madugalle
Umpires: Aleem Dar and Steve Davis

Peter May