Swann could be an England flyer (14 August 1999)

14 August 1999

Swann could be an England flyer

Michael Henderson

Stick, or twist? Nasser Hussain posed the question recently, when he spoke about the difficulty a struggling team had batting with conviction in Test cricket. Tonight, when he meets his fellow selectors, Duncan Fletcher and David Graveney, to pick the England side for the final Test against New Zealand which starts at the Oval on Thursday, he can begin to answer his own question.

Should they pick the team with the forthcoming tour of South Africa in mind; in other words, go for the unproven? Or should they rely on the players who have performed modestly against New Zealand, and start afresh after the Test?

Fletcher's co-option as a selector, and this week's sacking of Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting, suggests they will take the former course. Though he does not take up the coach's job until Oct 1, Fletcher is at last actively involved, and he is unlikely to vote for players he does not want.

There will have to be some twisting. In addition to Darren Gough, who is out for the season with a calf injury, England cannot call on two other opening bowlers who have played this summer. Dean Headley has a shoulder injury, and the knee niggle that forced Alex Tudor to withdraw from the Lord's Test is responding slowly to treatment.

Then there is Hussain's broken finger, which continues to cause concern. He intended to play for Essex against the tourists at Chelmsford in a game starting yesterday but pulled out, claiming it was not quite right. To play next week would be a gamble but it is clearly one the captain is prepared to take in order to bring some direction to a side that looked rudderless at Old Trafford.

Whatever the result at the Oval, it should not distract the selectors from picking a touring party that will face different challenges this winter. Beating South Africa will be hard enough. Last year, the West Indies lost 5-0 there.

The greater long-term challenge, as Hussain has intimated, is to find a Test team worthy of the name. That task starts this evening, and the selectors will be judged by how they make the difficult choices, not the marginal ones.

For this match, and this match alone, there should be one compromise. After the selectors have informed Chris Read that he will go on tour as the first-choice wicketkeeper, they should put Alec Stewart behind the stumps one last time, and bat him at No 6.

Let him play one more Test, on his home ground, and then thank him for his contribution over the past decade. He has been a very good player but it is time to plan for a Stewart-less future.

If Hussain comes in for Graeme Hick, as he should, they should make only one other change, a switch of position. It is time for Mark Ramprakash to go up the order, to No 3, where he has the chance to build an innings with other batsmen instead of working with the tail. Hussain can then bat at five.

Earlier this summer, there were good arguments for picking Darren Maddy or Michael Vaughan to open the innings. Now they have reappeared as Mark Butcher is, apparently, in danger of losing his place one Test after he acted as stand-in captain! The idea should be resisted. Neither Maddy nor Vaughan is a better player than Butcher, though one of them, and possibly both, will go on tour.

There is greater merit in throwing in Graeme Swann, the Northamptonshire all-rounder. He will probably go to South Africa as an offspinner who can bat, though it would be nice to have clearer evidence of his bowling ability. He is a cocky lad, and can hold a bat, but no Test side in the history of cricket has ever had use for a non-wicket-taking off-spinner. If he plays at the Oval it can only be on spec, as a No 7 who can offer a few overs.

The pace bowling is more difficult. Andrew Caddick will play but with Gough, Tudor and Headley all injured, England need reinforcements. Chris Silverwood, of Yorkshire, who seems to have been around longer than Freddie and the Dreamers, has still not played a Test match in this country. Having been on the list all summer, and remained fit, his time has come.

Though Alan Mullally, who missed the last Test, has bowled well for England since he returned to the side last year, an outsider for the third pacer's spot may be Ed Giddins, of Warwickshire. He has kept going through thick and thin, mainly thin in recent weeks, and has an exemplary fitness record, which counts for something.

Plenty of others will be discussed at tonight's meeting, which is likely to go into the wee small hours. The selectors will certainly talk about Gavin Hamilton, the Yorkshire all-rounder who played for Scotland in the World Cup, and Craig White, his county team-mate, will rate a mention as a middle-order batsman who can bowl.

Therefore, with absolutely no conviction of being right, it is possible that the England 12 will look something like:

MA Butcher, MA Atherton, MR Ramprakash, GP Thorpe, *N Hussain, +AJ Stewart, GM Hamilton, GP Swann, AR Caddick, CEW Silverwood, PCR Tufnell, ESH Giddins.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)