Media Round-Up: The Champions Trophy, Harmy And The Heroes Of The Summer

England's cricketers may currently be trying to remember what they used to do in their spare time, but those who write about them are having no such thoughts.

Papers and websites have been awash with comment, contemplation and analysis, at the end of a summer which included seven Tests, countless limited-overs contests and two world tournaments. The one-day international was ruthlessly KO'd, then resuscitated, all in the space of a few weeks. Time to take stock.

The Champions Trophy promised to be the party no one wanted to go to, but threatened, in the end, to be the talk-of-the-town white hot VIP ticket. It certainly re-ignited an ODI debate which England had threatened to give a definitive ending to through their dismal 6-1 series defeat to Australia.

Alison Mitchell enjoyed what she saw during her informative blogs and reports from the heart of the action. And the general consensus seemed to be that the ODI, in its current format, had been offered a lifeline. Players, such as winning captain Ricky Ponting, and commentators alike subscribed to the view that while the administration of 50-over cricket is so often found wanting, when managed well, it deserves a place in the calendar.

I have dealt with the media reaction to the Ashes success, but sub-plots - relating to the squad chosen for South Africa - have failed to die-down. The Harmison debate has dominated in recent days.

With his record as it stands, I can only see Harmy as an immensely talented actor, with a penchant for forgetting his lines. Glad, as I am, to have seen him in England colours, I think the selectors have got this one right, but Mike Selvey makes a fine case for the defence in this article, and warns that he may yet be able to add credence to the line: "I'll be back." Providing he remembers it.

The implications of a Harmison-less attack are discussed here, by Otis Gibson.

But the men of the summer have to be Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower. There is little left to say about Strauss, the subject of an excellent Paul Hayward article in The Observer, who has enjoyed a masterful summer.

In the case of Flower, it seems interviews - like victory laps around the Oval - are not for him. Martin Johnson secured such a piece for The Sunday Times a month ago, which concurred entirely with his pragmatic, sensible but ambitious image. It took, as a starting point, England's pathetic 51 all out in Jamaica, and chronicled his team's improvement since then. With the start of the journey a mere eight months ago, Flower is certainly not viewing this summer's success as any sort of ending.

England Squads For South Africa Tour Announced

The squads for England's Test, ODI and T20I tour of South Africa were announced at midday today, ending weeks of speculation and signaling the side's post-Ashes direction. They are:

Test Squad: Strauss (c), Cook (vc), Anderson, Bell, Broad, Collingwood, Davies, Onions, Pietersen, Plunkett, Prior, Rashid, Sidebottom, Swann, Trott, Wright

One-day Squad: Strauss, Anderson, Bresnan, Broad, Collingwood, Cook, Denly, Mahmood, Morgan, Onions, Pietersen, Prior, Rashid, Swann, Trott, Wright

Two of the most notable omissions are Steve Harmison and Geraint Jones, for Plunkett and Davies respectively, leaving Andrew Strauss the only survivor from the previous Test tour of South Africa.

The consensus is that this move has ended the international career of these 2005 Ashes stalwarts. That's probably true in Jones's case - there are plenty of promising young wicketkeeper-batsmen on the England radar at present. Harmison though, rightly dropped for Plunkett, can still offer something different on his day. We all know the black marks against his name - the inconsistency, the bad travelling - but his uniqueness has the power to scrub them out once again in the future. If he really wants it. A very-nearly-31-year-old, father of four, two times Ashes winner, he's known for his talent, not his determination. I suspect we've seen the last of him, but if he marries the two, he could yet prove us wrong.

That said, there was an ODI recall for a man who can - on his day (a too frequently used phrase regarding England seamers) - match Harmison's hostility; Saj Mahmood. He and Plunkett have enjoyed brief success for England in the past, and it is hoped that, as with James Anderson, time away from the international scene will have enhanced their maturity, readying them for a renewed challenge.

Two men about to experience the international wilderness again, are Monty Panesar and Ravi Bopara. Ravi will surely benefit from the time off. He seems to struggle with the mental side of top international cricket, and should remember the start of the summer, when he was, along with KP, England's chief Test and one-day batting threat. He's sure to come again, Panesar less so; though he's recently spoken about his intentions to rectify the situation.

SA Tour: Jones In, Bopara Out?

England are set to recall Geraint Jones as back-up wicketkeeper, and discard Ravi Bopara for the winter tour of South Africa, according to Scyld Berry in The Sunday Telegraph.

Berry points out that Jones, who would replace Tim Ambrose as back-up to Matt Prior, has hit five first-class hundreds this season - more than any England gloveman in the past 25 years.

Bopara's struggles with the bat seem likely to see him dropped from both touring parties, with Berry claiming that "Joe Denly probably needs only one good innings in South Africa this week to become the reserve Test batsman in place of Bopara."

No light was shed on the selectors' thinking regarding the fifth seamer role - billed as a tussle between Durham colleagues Liam Plunkett and Steve Harmison.

This Time Last Year...

England were completing a 4-0 ODI series win against South Africa - now arguably the best side in the world - with only rain in Cardiff preventing a 5-0 whitewash and a leap up to second in the world rankings. Peter Moores's England were remarkably dominant in this series, and, had a World Cup been scheduled for September, would have fancied their chances. Pietersen, the newly appointed captain, and Flintoff were rampant, but England carried no passengers; every single member of the team made telling contributions.

As an opening partnership, Bell and Prior failed only once and England seemed to have solved a lingering problem. The depth of the whole batting line-up was such that from the second match onwards Luke Wright batted at eight, with Stuart Broad at nine. Crucially, such firepower did not come at the expense of the bowling armoury, which consisted of Anderson, Flintoff, Broad, Patel and Harmison with Collingwood and KP if needed. Only the four frontline quicks were called upon at Trent Bridge, where Broad produced one of those spells (5-23) and the tourists, victors in the Test series a few weeks earlier, were dismissed for 83.

But England failed to cash in on this undoubted momentum, and ended up on the wrong end of a 5-0 whitewash a few months later in India. One-day cricket inconsistency had reared its ugly head once more.

Vaughan's England Blueprint

Under the sub-headline, "Mission: win the Ashes in Australia", Michael Vaughan offers his England blueprint for success in an interview with Scyld Berry in today's Sunday Telegraph.

He has interesting views regarding the make-up of the team, championing a three, four, five of KP - "because your best player should bat there" - Bell and Trott. He wants England to stick with Alastair Cook, introduce Rashid at number eight and take Bopara to South Africa. When pressed on bowling names he lists Broad, Anderson, Onions, Harmison and Plunkett as potential dangermen for the winter tour, and Chris Woakes and Steve Finn as ones for the future.

Sound as these comments are, Flower, Strauss and the selectors have given us plenty of reason to trust their current thinking regarding selection policy. One day, Vaughan may well find himself part of that process, but for now, this interview represents no more than the informed view of an interested bystander. Where one wishes Vaughan had a more hands-on role, is with regard to his comments relating to the structure of the English game.

Michael Vaughan is a universally liked and respected figure. He was an England weapon as a batsman and captain, and, despite recent retirement, could still be now - if only the ECB could find some sort of consultancy role for him. Even reading his newspaper column would be a start.

Vaughan is acutely aware of the fixture congestion faced by international cricketers today, and laments the lack of resting opportunities: "The players are going to get niggles in the next few weeks [during the upcoming T20I and ODI series' against Australia] and we wont go to the Champions Trophy with our best team in the best shape. It will be another tournament where we don't give ourselves the best chance of winning."

Vaughan understands the needs and necessities of both the county and international games. He excercised logic and diplomacy on the pitch, and could bring the same to an administrative role. He knows only too well that Ashes success can be wasted as a platform on which to build, and is perfectly placed to help avoid mistakes being made this time around.

Berry goes on to quote the Schofield Report, commissioned two years ago by the ECB. In the light of the recent decision to ditch 50-over domestic cricket, it makes damning reading: "The First Class Counties' One Day programme should mirror, wherever possible, the current ICC competition rules, regulations and formats. A reduction in the amount of cricket played at domestic First Class level county championship games played is essential in order to alleviate fixture congestion and allow for better preparation of the players. The domestic programme must aspire to quality and not simply to quantity and the 40-over discipline may be deemed surplus to proper requirement."

Vaughan's reaction? "It's just greed."

Bopara Out, Trott and Panesar In

So Jonathan Trott will make his Test debut in England's most important match for four years. Nothing like a baptism of fire.

Harmison and Sidebottom are also included, so the decisions left to be made now concern the composition of the bowling line-up.

The selectors are closer to the action than we are, and have presumably decided that Bopara is mentally shot. Assuming that's the case, he had to step aside, with Key, Trott and Ramprakash all touted as replacements.

All have been in good form. An extra argument for Ramps seemed to be his knowledge of the Oval pitch. Whilst I can see the merit in the odd horses-for-courses selection in the bowling department, it doesn't say much for the talent available to England if they're picking specific batsmen on a renowned flat track. All three should be capable of making runs at the Oval.

Key would have been my choice given his Test experience, favourable temperament and the crucial fact that he could slot in at three without any fuss. The main problem with Trott's inclusion is it will push Bell up to three, where he averages 31 with no hundreds. Still, there wasn't much in it, and Trott seems capable of making the mental step up. Good luck to him.

Now to the bowling. Surrey manager Chris Adams suggests playing two spinners, and there would be a nice symmetry to a summer beginning and ending with Panesar heroics. But I can't see it happening. It says it all that the Panesar heroics of Cardiff concerned his batting. He's in the team as a spin bowler, but he hasn't taken more than four wickets in a Test in his last ten appearances. He's had a flat season and lacks spark and invention. Cardiff aside, he fails to offer the all-round package of a Swann or Rashid.

I would have included Rashid and seriously considered playing him. Sure, he's unknown at this level, but Panesar being the opposite is his problem - he's become predictable and easy to play. Rashid at least has form with the bat against the Aussies this summer. Then again, so does Panesar. Crazy world.

The Langer Dossier

Here it is in full, and here's some reaction to selected highlights:

On England: "English players rarely believe in themselves. Many of them will stare a lot but this is very shallow... They will retreat very quickly."

Traditionally it is hard to argue with this assessment, but it must be remembered that, 2005 aside, Langer played in a number of extremely one-sided Ashes series, including some of England's darkest days in the 90s. Also, he will have encountered much mediocrity since his association with county cricket began in the early 90s. I would also argue that things began to change on this front in around 2004, when the performances of Flintoff, Harmison and KP adopted something of a swagger and Fletcher's England began to gell in a serious way. With the nucleus of that team now disbanded, they could currently be building their second significant team of the decade. The reason for my optimism? The character of the newcomers - Broad, Swann and Bopara. Quality-wise, it remains to be seen how far they can go, but in terms of temperament I believe they compare favourably with their predecessors, and could end up banishing Langer's assertion once and for all.

On James Anderson: "He is swing [sic] the ball well but again can be a bit of a pussy if he is worn down."

I think he's describing Jimmy Anderson mark 1 here. His second coming, since coaches have stopped mucking around with his action, has seen him turn from a promising but confused youngster into one of the world's best swing bowlers, and one worthy of leading the attack. The maturity of his performances in the Caribbean confirmed his new status, even if the stats don't always. There's still room for him to improve on flat pitches, but his rate of improvement suggests he will.

On Ravi Bopara: "He is a bit of a street fighter who is sure to wind the boys up by his strutting around... I would leave him alone and just bowl at him rather than letting our egos take away our focus."

Langer is actually complementary about Ravi in the email, calling him a "good player". Obviously the Australians have got to him with the ball this series, but I actually think Langer's comments are positive - he clearly sees something in Bopara if he's worried the Aussies could lose focus by concentrating too much on trying to out-psyche him.

On Matt Prior: "I would chip away at him about his wicketkeeping... I am not sure he actually likes keeping that much and from all accounts he has a massive ego."

Well, whether they have done that or not is irrelevant - for me Prior has been the individual success story of the series for England. Langer's referring to how close Prior came to giving up the gloves and concentrating on an international future with the bat alone, and he's right in that there was a massive question-mark concerning his keeping even directly prior to the Cardiff Test. But, he's been brilliant with the gloves and as good as ever with the bat.

Also, on the ego issue, surely that's no bad thing? It's something he levels at Swann, Prior and Ravi (presumably it's too obvious with KP) but seems to contradict his ideas about English players' lack of belief. I'd take big egos any day - a swagger and a few choice words are exactly what we need to compete with the likes of Australia, and if that turns out being one of Pietersen's many legacies, then that's no bad thing.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Bopara?

If there were selection issues before the the innings and 80 runs defeat at Headingley, they've doubled in two and a half days - and that's just the batting. The bowling will become clearer with concrete news about Flintoff's fitness - which looks promising - but for now, here's what the experts would do with the top order at the Oval:

Steve James (The Sunday Telegraph) - No change. Keep Bopara at three and Bell at four. He is against Trott making his debut in such a crucial game - quoting advice that England psychologist Steve Bull gave him before his second Test cap: "Your first Test was for acclimatisation, the second is for performance."

Scyld Berry (The Sunday Telegraph) - Drop Bopara down the order and bring in Ramprakash at three. About Trott he writes: "His being next in line as a middle-order batsman is no commendation of the rest of the field."

David Gower (The Sunday Times) - Axe Bopara and Bell and bring in Key at three and Trott at four. About Robert Key he writes: 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."

David Lloyd (The Guardian) - "If Rob Key comes in, I'd move Ravi Bopara down to number four and maybe look at leaving out Ian Bell." He is more clear cut about the bowling, saying Harmison should retain his place and that England must play two spinners.

Graham Thorpe (BBC) - Push Bopara down the order and bring in Key for Bell.

Trott will be given a chance to impress the selectors on Saturday, when he plays for the England Lions against Australia.

Decisions, decisions...

Given the way Flintoff's fitness waned badly at Edgbaston, and having just seen Sky images of him bowling today in the Headingley nets, I don't rate his chances of being fit for tomorrow. This is a huge game and will quite possibly decide the series - full five-day fitness is clearly key. Even Flintoff is not worth a risk, and the selectors must remember that despite his Edgbaston batting heroics, he's mainly there for his bowling. I don't think he'll be as big a miss as KP, though it does pose problems in terms of balance.

There was a time - not long ago - when an often injured Flintoff's absence actually improved the balance of the England team. Right now, given his recntly improved batting, Broad's emergence and Prior's form at six, that is not the case. There are a number of possible combinations involving the three squad extras; Harmison, Sidebottom and Trott.

I would keep the changes to a minimum and swap him for one of the bowlers. Sure, that weakens the batting, but our lower order is not that of years gone by, and Swann, Broad and co can cope with a one place promotion. I'd pick Sidebottom given that he's a fine exponent of our greatest weapon against these Aussies. That deprives England of a hit-the-deck bowler, but as long as the Headingley pitch lives up to its swing-receptive reputation, I don't see that as a problem. Except that according to Matthew Hoggard, that's a big if. Still, Sidebottom has the local knowledge and has never let England down. The same cannot be said of Harmison.

Broad must keep his place, and not just because he strengthens a weakened batting line-up. He's a quality bowler and better than he's shown at times this series. He's learning all the time and is commendably unafraid to take the fight to the Aussies. He could do with a bit more guidance as to what his specific role is within this bowling attack.

I would also continue with Bopara and Bell, although two failures here by Ravi should open the door for Trott at the Oval. There, big scores and batting time on a good pitch are likely to be the order of the day - especially if the score is still 1-0 - and if Bopara still hasn't played an innings of substance since early summer by then, then Trott should come in, because he undoubtedly has.

England will decide on Flintoff in the morning.

Steve James Column In The Sunday Telegraph

As ever, Steve James makes a number of excellent and original points in his weekly Sunday Telegraph column. He calls for the selectors to resist the temptation to lower Bopara in the order by placing Bell at three. He rightly points to Bell's poor record in that position, and insists that Bopara is backed (after all, he does already have three centuries in that position - that's three more than Bell.) In addition, he would promote Collingwood to four and have Bell at five. This is unlikely to happen, but is backed up by his stats.

Bell's record by position:

Number 3 - ave: 31.00, 0 hundreds

Number 4 - ave: 47.16, 2 hundreds

Number 5 - ave: 54.41, 2 hundreds

Number 6 - ave: 49.00, 4 hundreds

Ian Chappell argues the exact opposite in his column in the same paper - preferring Bell at three and Bopara at five. I'm with James, but it will be fascinating to see what happens.

As for the bowling, James would think about replacing Broad, and is unsure about Onions. Harmison's form is excellent, and I can see him playing a part in this series, but at Edgbaston, I would back the current bowling attack. Broad was better at Lord's and is highly capable, while Onions did fine in his first Ashes Test - no better, but certainly no worse. Both, in my opinion, deserve at least one more chance.

A final excellent and overlooked point he makes, is to remind us who the England vice-captain is. It's Alastair Cook by the way, but I did need reminding. As James points out, "It is far from obvious on the field. More advice seems to come from Paul Collingwood."

Bell It Is

As expected, Ian Bell will start the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Thursday in place of Kevin Pietersen, it was announced today. Other than KP's omission, the squad is unchanged, so Panesar and Harmison are again included - though destined to be discarded.

As ever, Bell has shown good county form this season - clocking up 640 runs in seven County Championship matches, prior to his double failure against Hampshire last week.

Ian Bell Test Record: Played - 46, Innings - 83, Average - 40.59, High Score - 199, Hundreds - 8, Fifties - 19, Catches 44.

Warm-up Matches Analysis

Reasons to be cheerful and reasons to be fearful that arose from the England v Warickshire and England Lions v Australia matches.

Cheerful

• All batsmen (with the exception of Pietersen) made runs.
• The continued excellent form of Anderson.
• No shortage of bowling options with Flintoff looking fit, hungry and in-form, Panesar taking three wickets (admittedly all tailenders) and Harmison looking a real threat.
• Identifying Philip Hughes's weakness against the short ball.
• Mitchell Johnson looking below par and struggling to swing the ball until the final session of the match.

Fearful

• Mike Hussey and Marcus North feeling their way back into form whilst enjoying considerable time in the middle and making big hundreds.
• A rejuvenated Brett Lee causing havoc with an outstanding spell of reverse swing that had Troy Cooley's stamp all over it.
• Ian Bell only scoring 20 runs in the match. Injury or loss of form to any of the top six is likely to thrust him into the action, and a significant innings here would have done his confidence no harm.

Overall both teams will be satisfied with their work-outs. The two games merely confirmed that this is likely to be an extremely tight series. The talking points for England: what to do with Harmison, and how many spinners to play in Cardiff. A 13-man squad for the first Test will be announced at 10:00 am tomorrow.

Harmison Bowls Himself Into Contention

Five days to go and the action is beggining to hot up on the pitch as well as off it with the England v Warickshire and England Lions v Australia matches running in tandem. Day three of both games and it's a man who divides opinion like no other Englishman that's making the headlines.

Steve Harmison has taken the wicket of Philip Hughes cheaply in both innings. The Aussie dangerman looked all at sea against a barrage of Harmison short stuff. Flintoff, Broad and Anderson will have taken note, but when it comes to extracting bounce from a pitch an in-form Harmison is England's best option. Expect this to be the talking point of the run up to the first Test.

Vaughan and Harmison Omitted From Squad

The Ashes dream appears to be over for two of England's 2005 stalwarts. Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison were today left out of a 16-man Ashes training camp squad. 

Vaughan can have no complaints really. He is centrally contracted, but form isn't exactly an optional variable heading into a series with Australia, and he has none to speak of. Harmison on the other hand does, and can count himself unlucky. This season the Durham paceman has claimed 30 wickets in six matches, including 16 in the last two games. He could hardly have done more, and without the threat of homesickness this summer should have been included.

With the squad for the first Test due to be announced on July 5th, this is not a definite end of the road for these - and the other - unpicked players, but it's certainly an ominous sign.

Squad: Strauss

Anderson

Bell

Bopara

Bresnan

Broad

Collingwood

Cook 

Flintoff

Onions 

Panesar

Pietersen

Prior

Rashid

Sidebottom

Swann