T20 Squad Reaction

The selectors have drawn the following conclusions from the World T20 in June; they've dropped Mascarenhas, Key, Foster and Napier, and called up Trott, Prior, Denly and Bresnan for the upcoming games against Australia. Flintoff returns from injury, whilst KP has succumbed to it.

I think they've got all four of the form-related changes right. Mascarenhas has never done much wrong for England, but it could be argued he hasn't quite done enough right since his debut two summers ago.

It would be unfair to judge Key on his sole World T20 appearance - the ill-fated tournament opener against the Netherlands - and with a career T20 average just shy of 30 and captaincy credentials he deserves his place on the selectors radar. But in a way, despite being capped just once in the format, he is synonymous with England - good, but not quite good enough.

Foster was a success at the World T20 in keeping terms, but was one of a band of middle order hitters who came up short. At the time I felt there was a case for including him and Prior (as a batsman), but the latter's glovework in the two months since suggests England can dispense with Foster.

England's unwillingness to use Napier probably says it all. Certainly one to monitor - as anyone capable of scoring a 20 over 150 should be - but so far he's failed to convince that that innings wasn't a one-off.

Twenty20 Finals Day

Much like the game of cricket itself, we English invented Twenty20, only to sit back and watch a host of other nations surpass us. Since the first domestic Twenty20 Finals Day - in 2003 - two World Cups have been staged, and England have failed to make it as far as the semi-final on both occasions. More galling for the ECB has been the advent of the IPL, which, in terms of domestic competitions, has blown their own competition out of the water. A problem for the England team has been their limited participation in the event; a smattering of players in 2009, none at all in 2008. Other major nations have benefitted from their players' involvement in the IPL, which provides an atmosphere comparable to that of a World Cup.

So to the ECB's showpiece today; four teams, 120 overs, a packed Edgbaston and a television audience. A number of England players and hopefuls were on display, all knowing there's no better occasion to state an international claim. Here's how they got on:

Northamptonshire (lost first semi-final)

Panesar - Not really his format of the game, not really his season, but he did well today in bowling three overs for just 12 runs. However, Northants were flat and needed more. Has only ever played one international T20, and his form in this year's competition suggests he is no higher than third choice spinner, if that. No chance to repeat Cardiff batting heroics.

Kent (lost second semi-final)

Key - At home in this format of the game, making 34 from 38. Top scored for his team in last year's final.

Denly - Only lasted two balls before being clean bowled. Was top scorer in last years competition.

Khan, Amjad - His one over went for 16. His Test debut in March seems a long time ago.

Somerset (lost the final)

Hildreth - Run-a-ball 36 in the semi, but failed in the final. Has good figures, but the Taunton pitch will always count against him. Gradually improving consistency should ensure him a spot on the England radar.

Kieswetter - A future England international, but didn't get a chance to prove why with the bat in the semi, and failed in the final. 'Kept well and claimed the stumping of man-of-the-match Smith.

Trego - Says he has England aspirations and demonstrated his destructive qualities with the bat with 27 from 14 balls in the final. Bowled reasonably, but a career T20 economy rate in excess of eight means there are plenty above him in the queue for the Mascarenhas role.

Sussex (winners)

Wright - Decent, but not the fireworks we know he's capable of. Scored 18 and 20 and took a wicket in the final. Now needs to kick on as an limited-overs international, and should be given game time in which to do so.

Hamilton-Brown - Contributed well all day. Scored 29 and 25 batting at three, and claimed a wicket in his sole over of offspin in the final. At 21 there's no need to rush him in, but international cricket should be a question of when rather than if.

Yardy - Shouldn't be discounted by England in limited-overs cricket. Followed up his unbeaten 92 in the Friends Provident Trophy Final with a tidy bowling display. His four overs in the final went for 17.

Joyce - Quiet day, but, on this season's form, he seems to have improved since his last international appearance in 2007.

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.

Squad For Third Test Named Tomorrow

Ian Bell for Kevin Pietersen is widely expected to be the only change. And whilst Bell would be my choice, events this week have highlighted a dearth of viable alternatives. Here are the names which have been banded about the media:

Ian Bell - Averages 40.59 from 46 Tests. Scored 199 v South Africa last July, but has one 50 from 12 Test innings since. Dropped during last winter's Caribbean tour. Has always shown promise at international level, but questionable temperament and frustrating inconsistency. Prolific as ever in county cricket this summer. Superb fielder who made an underrated catching contribution in 2005.

Rob Key - Has a Test double century (a feat which only Collingwood and Pietersen can match) and made his international comeback in the recent World T20. Made his first double century in County Championship earlier this month, and has hit form after a wretched start to the season. Has a sub-standard international average, and is unlikely to figure for England again at this level though.

Stephen Moore - Opening batsman, which all but puts him out of the reckoning. Was the highest scorer in domestic first-class cricket last season and made a century against the Australians for the England Lions prior to the first Test. One to keep an eye on.

Joe Denly - Another opener - not what England need. Made 66 and 36 against Australia for England Lions in June, but this Ashes series is a year or two early for him. One for the future in Tests, and the present in one-day cricket.

Owais Shah - Good player, and one I championed for the Test team prior to his run in the Caribbean, but suffers from nerves and didn't seize his chance. Would be too much of a risk on the biggest stage of all.

Marcus Trescothick - Wishful thinking. An unsung hero of the 2005 Ashes series, and still one of the best openers around. Australians respect him, but his England days are sadly over.

Hopefully a break from international cricket has cleared Bell's head and increased his hunger, because we know he has the talent required for this level. I have always thought he'd return to Tests and enjoy sustained success, but I wouldn't have picked mid-way through this series as his reintroduction period. However, given the choice above, and with the exception of Tresco, I believe he represents our best option for the rest of this Ashes summer.

Preliminary ICC Champions Trophy Squad Announced

England announced a 30-strong squad for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy, yesterday. The tournament will be staged in South Africa in September and the squad will be halved by August 23.

England's ODI form in recent years has been extremely frustrating - not least because it has at times - 2007 home series v India, 2008 home series v South Africa - been excellent. However, for each of these results there is also the whitewashes of the 2008 winter series v India or the 2006 summer series v Sri Lanka.

So, results suggest that England are not a million miles away from finding a successful ODI formula, but the current one is not good enough; one or two steps forward, followed by the same number back. They have to try something a bit new. Although the selectors have named only one uncapped player (Hampshire's Michael Lumb), the squad includes a number of fresh, young and inexperienced names. Their inclusion could provide the subtle change in direction which leads to that illusive consistency.

This is the perfect tournament in which players can shed the label of potential in favour of the far more useful tags, experienced and good enough. It's not a World Cup, and I would suggest that signs of significant improvement (an obvious and suitable gameplan, clearly defined roles within the team, picking the right players and evidence of tournament-savvy play) is more important than returning with the trophy. The logic behind that being that should England happen upon some consistency, they may one day return home with a coveted World Cup.

That means making tough calls - dispensing with good servants of the county game who have served England passably in the past - Rob Key and Gareth Batty - and even those who have an obvious Test future but have failed to grasp countless ODI opportunities - Ian Bell and, in my opinion, Andrew Strauss.

Here's my squad. The main difference between this XV and the one which will be chosen is the absence here of the captain, Strauss. For me, his inclusion is indicative of the two steps forward, two steps back policy - he's shown at times (as recently as the Caribbean tour) that he's capable in the format, but struggled badly with its concept at other times, thus, as an opener, hampering the whole team. I would certainly keep him in the selection mix, but for this tournament would give the captaincy to Stuart Broad - eighth in all-time England ODI wicket-takers list and highly-rated as a thinking cricketer by Michael Vaughan.

My XV:

James Anderson (Lancashire)

Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Joe Denly (Kent)
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
Michael Lumb (Hampshire)
Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Graham Onions (Durham)
Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
Matt Prior (Sussex)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)

Luke Wright (Sussex)

England World T20 Report Card: Batsmen

Bopara - Scores: 55, 37, 2, 5, 46. A couple of soft dismissals aside, showed why he'll be a focal point of England's batting in all three formats for the next decade or more. 8/10

Wright - 6, 1, 1, 34, 71. Will always be quite literally hit or miss, but makes a good opening partner for Bopara. If it works, England get off to a flyer, if it doesn't KP's in early - win/win. His warm-up match score against the West Indies and his 34 off 16 against Pakistan proved that he can score runs against quality attacks as well as the minnows. 7/10

Pietersen - 31, 46, 19, 58. Vital to his team's chances. Has finally worked out how to bat in T20. Match-winning 58 against Pakistan was made under intense pressure given the match and injury situation. Has by far the team's best boundary hitting ability. When he plays well, so do England. 8.5/10

Shah - 18, 12, 38, 33, 5. The jury is still out to an extent, but he warrants his place for now. Has six-hitting ability - a rare commodity in this England team. Useful contributions, but will be as frustrated as anybody at being unable to push on for a bigger score. 7/10

Collingwood - 11, 7, 19, 15, 11. The reluctant captain's scores were not good enough. Always scores at a run-a-ball, but comes in near the end when England need illusive boundaries. Captaincy-wise acted with dignity and honestly, rotated his bowlers well, but made a big mistake in opting to bat first against the West Indies. Well worth a place in the other forms of the game, but T20 future looks uncertain. 6/10

Key - 10*. Hopelessly out of form coming into the tournament. Needed more explosive finish than he could provide against the Dutch. Main argument for squad inclusion seemed to be previous captaincy success, but he wasn't captain. Including his Kent opening partner would have been more beneficial. 5/10

Morgan - 6. Can't judge on his solitary performance, but has done enough over the past few weeks to suggest an England future. Exciting and - crucially for T20 - innovative, though we didn't see it in this tournament.  5/10

Foster - 13, 6, 1, 14, 3*. As an experiment it worked and it didn't. Quality 'keeper - the best at England's disposal, but an inferior batsman to Matt Prior. How do you balance his crucial stumpings of Yuvraj and Bravo with the middle-order boundary hitting of Prior? Maybe include them both, Prior as a specialist batsman. 7/10

Mascarenhas - 1, 16, 25. Curious tournament - was unable to find the middle of the bat. He's there to hit maximums and cause clean-hitting chaos in the closing overs, but it never materialised. Scoring 25 off 27 when coming in at four against India cannot have been what was asked of him. 6/10

Napier - Did not play. The middle order was crying out for his big-hitting finishing. Can't have been impressing in the nets. n/a 

How The Holland Game Was Lost

Yes, Pietersen and Flintoff were missing, and yes, selection mistakes were made yesterday - Mascheranas and Swann should have played, not Key and Rashid - but that's not why England lost. Any combination of their 15-man squad should have been more than a match for the men in orange. And don't for a minute believe that Stuart Broad was responsible, with his failed last-ball shy at the stumps. He had to do it - his only mistake was not hitting. That Broad went for the stumps is a positive thing - England need that mindset. He bowled a fine last over too - his round-the-wicket wide of off-stump bowling has been inventive and effective. On another day, one of his last over efforts would have been successful. Here's where the game was really lost:

• England failed to build on a solid start in their last nine overs, adding only 62 runs. They seemed to think the job was done, but in T20 a strike-rate of 100 is unacceptable for any period longer than the odd over.
• England made six hitting look impossible. Holland hit four.
• There are fielding restrictions in T20. Only two fielders allowed outside the circle in the first six overs - prime six-hitting time which no team can afford to ignore.
• As the pressure intensified England's fielding was nervy. The wet conditions didn't help, but the situation required razor-sharp catching and run outs, neither materialised.
• Holland timed their run chase expertly. D+L was pretty much always in their favour as they supplemented a steady flow of boundaries with single after single.
• Holland played superbly and deserved to win. Bowled well in the second half of the England innings - restricting them to singles - and timed their own innings to perfection. Disastrous for England, great for the tournament and the sport.
• T20 as a format lends itself to upsets. The heroics of one or two players can have more influence in a shorter space of time than in any other format. Tom de Grooth discovered this yesterday.

Reasons to be cheerful? A few. Namely, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Zimbabwe. The latter beat Australia in the 2007 World T20 and the Aussies went on to reach the semi-final. Things can turnaround in no time in T20. England will be praying they can prove this point.

BBC reaction