Strauss right to let Manou play

Scyld Berry writes in the Daily Telegraph that Andrew Strauss's decision to let Australia field Graham Manou in place of the injured Brad Haddin, who was originally in the XI, was the right one, both on moral and pragmatic grounds.

Strauss’s assent was also consistent with the modern adage that you want to test yourself against the best 11 that your opponents can raise.

It would have been inconsistent to have blocked Manou’s selection after Haddin was injured just before the start, when all the players have been saying they want to face a fully fit Andrew Flintoff and Brett Lee and Kevin Pietersen in this series.