Turning The Tide
Panesar - Chance To Weave His Magic.
Nasser Hussain believes Monty Panesar can lead England's fightback in the third Test at Edbgaston.
I have to admit I was struggling to work out what side England were going to send out in the second Test.
I had given it some thought following the initial squad announcement and even then, I really didn't know what I would do if it I were choosing the team to face South Africa.
I did think they needed five bowlers. The bottom line is that in the last two innings they have struggled to bowl South Africa out.
In both of those innings they have scored over 500 runs and that always gives them a huge advantage. Steve Harmison was brought back into the squad because he has that something extra they had been lacking.
But then I couldn't see how they were going to play those five. In a funny sort of way bringing Andrew Flintff back in has almost upset the balance of a side. I don't know how bringing an all-rounder in can do that, but England clearly have a dilemma with Flintoff fit again.
Had they decided to go with their five best bowlers, that would have required Stuart Broad at eight for his runs. But it would've been a huge gamble because that would have meant Tim Ambrose at six, then Flintoff at seven before the tail effectively begins.
Maybe they have gone with the four bowlers having seen the conditions at Edgbaston, because from what I have been hearing it could well be a pitch that is going to turn.
I saw the groundsman being interviewed by Tim Abraham on Sky Sports News on Monday and it seems like he's had a chat with the ECB and maybe a little bit of a directive has been sent down - I can only guess.
If that is the case it means Monty Panesar taking on Paul Harris which is what England want. Panesar hasn't really had a chance to make a huge impact so far, but if it comes down to a battle between those two, as we have been saying all along, there is only going to be one winner.
Then it makes sense to go with four bowlers with Paul Collingwood at six, even if I do have my reservations about his recall.
I have nothing against Colly but I don't want the England side to become a cosy little club. He was dropped because he was not getting enough runs but is brought straight back in after one Test match.
I have been watching a lot of Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah in particular over the last three or four months and they are both fantastic cricketers who must be as confused as Chris Tremlett, who has been in, out, in, out, over the last month.
I am of the opinion that if you are left out, you go away for a while and get runs for your county before you get back into the England side, which Collingwood hasn't really done. I want to see people having to force their way in to this team.
Having said all that and for all of the selection issues over the last month, I still believe England are not out of this series.
Historically South Africa have gone 1-0 up in series before and drawn and even lost them. England are a good side with good quality players and they can still find a way back into this.
A turning pitch at Edgbaston will help, but so will the absence of Dale Steyn from the South African attack. He has been one of the best bowlers in the world over the last 12 months and has been all over Michael Vaughan this summer, which has forced the England captain to admit he is struggling.
Andre Nel will come in, which at least will make for good television! I didn't really come across him in my playing days although I did see a bit of him around Essex even though he came the year after I finished.
I have to say I quite like his character, even if it is a little bit put-on, a little bit over the top. He is a little eccentric but I do like to see characters in the game.
The last thing we want is everyone playing like robots but as much as it is fun to watch, I don't really see how Nel's approach works. The batsmen know he's doing what he is doing when he loses the plot and in all honesty the only person really affected by it is Andre Nel!
More importantly though, losing Steyn gives England more hope. Now all they need to do is bat properly, because they way they batted at Edgbaston was poor.
They need to get back to playing like they did at Lord's and they need to get back to playing the conditions. For all the changes to the game in recent years and however much it has moved on, that corridor of uncertainty is still the same. They have seen how well Ashwell Prince and AB De Villiers have done by leaving the ball and playing to their off stump if it is moving around.
England's batting at Edgbaston struck me as a little one dimensional and I hope it was just a one-off. They say they have sat down and had a big chat and I do hope they have learned from their mistakes. After all, everyone is allowed a bad Test match, let's hope that was England's.
If that is the case, they are still very much in this Test series.