LONDON: There is probably going to be a lot of noise this week about the omission of Stuart Broad from the England squad for the fourth and final Test against Pakistan at The Oval but you will not find me joining in the outcry.

Rather let me say that I would have been surprised if the selectors had taken his performance in the Twenty20 finals — won by his side Leicestershire — as a guide to his Test value. He is a great fast bowler for tomorrow, but aged 20, 6ft 6in and still growing, Broad needs nursing not rushing.

It might be to his benefit if he were chosen in the squad for the tour of Australia. The son of Chris Broad, who had his finest tour to Australia in 1986-87, is clearly on his way to the top.

Patience will pay

He has pace, control and a simple repeatable action; and not a little of his father's determination to have his say if he thinks there is an injustice. (Odd, isn't it that dad is now a match referee, the most dramatic example of a poacher turned gamekeeper cricket has ever seen.)

But, England should not ruin the sapling in a bid to produce an oak tree overnight. The selectors have enough strong players, they have had as good a summer as they could expect, given the number of injuries they have suffered and if they have any luck the team will put up a decent fight in Australia.

David Graveney, chairman of the selectors, announced an unchanged side and praised the way the side had taken control of the series against Pakistan and the performance of captain Andrew Strauss in bringing them together, a hint that he is the likely captain for the Ashes series.

Prepare for a shock

The party remains the same but there may be a shock on Thursday morning when Matthew Hoggard may be dropped in favour of Jon Lewis. Hoggard is not bowling well, he is known to be in pain from wear and tear to his left knee and he deserves a rest after 35 Tests in succession.

On the other hand, the Duncan Fletcher coaching logic includes a high rating for unchanged teams and he will argue that case unless Hoggard's injury is worse than we think.

There is another bit of cricket thinking that says the Oval Test is one to miss, particularly if you are a bowler. The pitch is always full of runs, the batsmen have just been made to look foolish at Headingley and are keen to take revenge and the ground, after weeks without rain, is hard on the feet, already blistered from a full summer's cricket.

The money factor

And then again it is reckoned that a Test for England is worth around £10,000 and even in these days when sportsmen are generally better paid than at any time, few of them can afford to throw away that amount of money. (Hoggard is having the roof of his house repaired; costing perhaps a Test fee.)

The major talking point after the Twenty20 finals was the poor performance of Surrey in its semifinal against Nottinghamshire. Notts made 176 for six and then Surrey's top order was shot out so quickly that it was 16 for four.

Notts lost the final to Leicestershire by only four runs but claimed it should have had a no-ball for a chest high delivery from medium-pacer Jim Allenby. Will Smith hit it for six but who knows what would have happened if the team had been given a free hit for a no-ball.

The squad:

Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Chris Read, Sajid Mahmood, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail