Chance to blood a few youngsters in the last test?

With England now on the verge of clinching the series and the #1 spot in test cricket, the 4th test at the Oval becomes a dead rubber. Gives England a chance to give youngsters like Taylor or Hales a debut in a no pressure situation.

Maybe the one of Trott isn't fit. No point in changing half the team.

Taylor I hope is given a chance but it's hard to see how he'll fit into the team, who would England drop? Only way I can see Taylor getting in is if they rest Trott.

I'm not suggesting making wholesale or even permanant changes. Could rest a batsman heading into the ODIs

I would make a couple of changes, on the basis that giving a couple of others experience would be a wise long-term investment. I'd bring in Taylor for Morgan, and Tremlett for Bresnan.

No chance of any changes except the return of Trott. Flower and co are not playing games , they want to keep winning.

Fair enough too

teassoc wrote:I would make a couple of changes, on the basis that giving a couple of others experience would be a wise long-term investment. I'd bring in Taylor for Morgan, and Tremlett for Bresnan.

Dead rubber gives GM etc the chance to play a newbie or another bowler but they won't .

Only change may be Bopara dropped and Jonathan Trott returning.

Wasted opportunity.

If Trott isn't ready i'd like to see Taylor in for Bopara.

If Trott isn't 100 percent then I would rest him and bring in Taylor. Perfect chance for him to play his 1st game. Nothing better than to be playing in a winning side.

It may be a good idea to let Trott rest before the ODI series. If that happens, the selectors will probably give Bopara another go, even though most people would rather Taylor be given a go.

Well we have our answer...

Still no Trott , but no Taylor. Bopara gets another "last chance" - unless the "5 bowler" advocates are about to be rewarded...

Well IF the pitch is Flat with no great bounce carry or movement ( as Oval pitches usually are ) then I really hope Flower and Capn Strauss opt for 5 bowlers.

We just scored 700 for not many on a helpful wicket so do we need the extra batter.

My view is if the pitch is a belter then play the extra bowler.

WHY IS BOPARA STILL IN THIS SQUAD?????

What does he add?

Not only did he fail with the bat, he's also a lazy fielder - see the way he dived straight over a ball hit to mid off. I'm sure he did that so he wouldn't have to chase it down.

There's no such thing as a dead rubber match in test cricket, each and every match means something.

Theres a certainly a difference for a must win game however.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:There's no such thing as a dead rubber match in test cricket, each and every match means something.

Agree with this entirely. England have only just earned the number 1 status. They now need to cement that status. You don't achieve that by playing about with a winning formula. It's not enough to beat India: Let's pummel them. That's how the best teams think.

In addition, I'm not sure if it helps a young player to be brought in for one test, knowing they'll be discarded immediately. Let's not forget that Taylor's hardly having a stellar season anyway. Young players find it easier to fit into a settled, successful squad, and need to be given a run. At some point a batsman will get injured or retire. Taylor will have his chance then. Hopefully at the time he will be in decent form and will grab his chance. I don't see the point in forcing the issue when you don't need to.

i think the selectors will rest trott and play taylor

Is Taylor in the squad?

lol didnt even realise the selectors had named a squad yet for the 4th test

One further consideration:

Having taken the #1 spot in the rankings, we can potentially lose this between the end of this series and our next Test match - South Africa have a Test series wehre they can gain sufficient points to take over. As such, we should be looking to win this Test so that we extend the rankings lead as far as possible.

Squad has been named, as an unchanged 13 from last week, so Finn and Tremlett included. Trott still missing with his shoulder injury, so Bopara retains his place.

There's no such thing as a dead rubber match in test cricket, each and every match means something.

Though you are theoretically correct, there is a psychological difference in a game after the series is decided. Remember how we used to win the dead rubber game against the Aussies? They just didn't have the same bite. The Blackwash series' stood out simply because 5-0 was so rare.

From what I've seen, England seem well aware of Dead Rubber Syndrome, and are looking to emphasise their dominance with a 4-0 series. It'll be interesting to see if they can.

If the Indians react to their defeats out of hurt pride (and they've got to be hurting) the Oval could very well be the best match of the series!

Dummyhalf: I think the Saffers are more of a threat to us than any other side. If this England and Wales team has a weakness, it's against good genuinely fast bowling and SA have that.

or we could play a full strength team and smash them 4-0

Looks like we are, same squad as the 3rd Test

Latest news is that Tremlett and Anderson might not be fit for this test. Onions has been brought in as cover.