Thorpe and Gough line up for recalls

It's the midway point of the English season, and things are going swimmingly. Three contests have produced three trophies, each won by a clutch of young cricketers playing with nerve and verve. It seems a perverse time, then, for a return of the old guard.

But on Friday, after an aperitif that would once have represented a satisfying summer banquet, England's selectors announce their squad for the first Test against South Africa at Edgbaston. Never before in England has a five-Test series been shoehorned into so short a space of time, and so, for all the early successes of new-look England, the emphasis will necessarily shift to the short-term.

Two men in particular epitomise that shifting of priorities. Neither would be grateful to be tagged as an expedient selection, but given their histories of injury and unavailability, it would be dangerous to consider Darren Gough and Graham Thorpe in any other light. What is undeniable, however, is that when mind and body are working in unison, the pair are the best matchwinners that England have produced in a decade. The temptation for their inclusion will be hard to resist.

Gough, of course, has had ten one-day matches this season, in which he has demonstrated the sort of form that would once have made him an automatic selection. But suspicions remain about his reliability in Test cricket - he hasn't played since August 2001, 20 matches ago. If those renowned nuggets, Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis, dig in as they can, Gough's suspect knee can expect a heavy, and potentially disastrous, workload this summer.

Instead it is Thorpe who appears the likelier of the two to return to the fold. Duncan Fletcher, never one to waste words, dropped a clear hint last week, after Thorpe had insisted his much-publicised problems were behind him. "Graham is a quality player," said Fletcher. "Some of his decisions not to tour have been difficult personal ones and, as selectors, we should understand these concerns. We will have to look at how the side has performed in the Test and one-day arena in the past year."

That shouldn't take too long. England's success this season has been in spite of a decidedly ricketty middle-order, where Thorpe's class has been sorely missed. Robert Key and Jim Troughton have struggled to fill the void, and although it is harsh to nitpick, given that Anthony McGrath has become the first English batsman since David Gower to score half-centuries in his first two innings, Zimbabwe's floundering attack was hardly representative of Test status.

On the flip side, Thorpe's readmission may make one thirtysomething too many. Mark Butcher's place at No. 3 is secure, thanks to two matchwinning centuries in three Tests (including one against Australia), while Chris Read cannot conceive of displacing Alec Stewart, who has scored 807 runs at 47.47 as a wicketkeeper against South Africa. And now that Nasser Hussain has put his early-season indifference behind him with some rollicking innings for Essex, England can expect to field a fearsomely established top six.

Hussain's return to form is timely, as he is under pressure for his place as never before. Michael Vaughan's astonishing success as one-day captain - in which he was as languid in the field as he was, eventually, at the crease - may soon mark the turning of the tide. Hussain's autocratic rule was instrumental in hauling England out of the dark ages, but more enlightened times lie ahead, as epitomised by James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff, who is set to play his first Test since Headingley last August.

For the moment though, the twin goals of the Ashes and World Cup 2007 are a long way off. September 2003, and a third five-Test series victory in 16 years, is all that matters.

Possible squad Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain (capt), Graham Thorpe, Anthony McGrath, Alec Stewart (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, James Anderson, Steve Harmison, Richard Johnson.