Time to recall Ramprakash

In the Daily Telegraph Scyld Berry argues that it is time for Mark Ramprakash to be recalled for the Oval Test. It might be a desperate one-off measure but England should select the veteran batsman for the final fixture of the Ashes, he says. The nearest that England will come to any ashes at the end of this Test is the charred remains of their ambitions, hopes and vanities which the Australians have put to the torch.

All other England batsmen have underperformed against Australia in that their averages in the Ashes have been lower than for the rest of their Test careers — with another exception in a couple of players from Middlesex who have done pretty well: Denis Compton and Andrew Strauss. And Ramprakash, as a Middlesex player, averaged 42 against Australia — before moving to Surrey. A desperate one-off measure, as Ramprakash is 39, but who else?

England must axe Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara, says David Gower in the Sunday Times. With England's confidence shattered in Leeds, fresh faces are needed to restore momentum at The Oval, believes the former England captain.

Normally I would not be one for desperate changes for the last match of a series such as this but I cannot see any other solution to the paucity of runs in the upper order. Without them England are hamstrung so I would have to make two adjustments. Given that Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott is the next cab on the rank, he has to make his debut and bat at four (he proved his form by scoring 79 against Somerset yesterday), while I would love to see Robert Key back in the number three slot. I like the way he plays and believe he would respond well to the chance to play a part, even if there might be a feeling that it could be a one-off situation.

The Sunday Times' Martin Johnson believes Andrew Flintoff's fitness fears have turned into a national crisis.Flintoff didn’t take a single wicket at Edgbaston, but he visibly lifted the others with his energy and presence. At Headingley on the other hand, England’s combined electricity would barely have illuminated a 40-watt bulb.

Which is why, if Flintoff is fit for the final Test, the minimum requirement for the announcement would be the ringing of church bells, a public holiday and a papal puff of white smoke. We can’t be 100% certain just how badly Flintoff’s late withdrawal affected England mentally, but rarely can Headingley have witnessed any team playing with their heads so far up their backsides since the arrest of a pantomime horse here several years ago.

David Hopps fears it could take England as long to replace their current talismanic allrounder Andrew Flintoff as it did to find a successor to Ian Botham. How do you solve a problem like Flintoff? Not very quickly, says Hopps in the Observer.

Paul Hayward in his blog for the same paper simply says Australia have made a mockery of Andrew Strauss's men, who now need a miracle if they are to win back the Ashes.

David Lloyd, in the Independent, looks at poor Andrew Strauss and isn't envious of his task at hand.