What Should England Do To Defend The Ashes In Cricket?

England defend the Ashes this winter and all of us will be hoping, if not for retention, a repeat of the wonderful and exciting well contested cricket of last year. At present it seems that most people and the selectors still view the Ashes winning eleven as the starting point. Like with Michael Owen over Shaun Wright Phillips say a long period out injured bizarrely rates ahead of a fit player out of form. Indeed the England team seem to be basing their thinking on getting unfit players back.

The first thing England have to decide is whether to go with 6 batters or the 5 batters 5 bowlers and a wicket keeper which we won the Ashes with. As mentioned Flintoff at 7 and Jones at 8 is where their averages and batting ability would ideally put them. This leads to several issues for the winter:-

We cannot know how fit Flintoff will be, so do we have any other all rounders? Well the short answer is no. Similarly is there anyone who can replace Geraint Jones and will be a better bat, probably not. So for me it is reasonable to say 5 batsmen only has a chance to work with Flintoff.

Do we need 5 bowlers? No but if we keep having bowlers get injured it is a risk. For all the BS about central contracts and even given the Ashes win my jury is out on this. Our bowlers seem as fragile as ever and maybe worse as there is no excuse, like in the past that they have been over bowled. This resting bowlers and having them enter test matches unfit is not working and plainly so. Just because we have won games does not vindicate all that Fletcher and Graveney have done. Indeed it could just be the talent that we have, despite 5 or 6 injuries we can currently put out a competitive team against Pakistan.

So my answer is slightly cryptic no we do not need 5 bowlers if we only play fit bowlers. Like Svennis it is a huge mistake to pencil in players who have not demonstrated or achieved full fitness. The only player worth the chance, with questionable fitness, is Flintoff and then only IF he is the 5th bowler - one assumes he can bat even if he breaks down. In the meantime our management should be ensuring Pietersen and Collingwood get plenty of practise with their bowling between now and the Ashes series - if we play 4 bowlers the others will probably need to make up 5 or more overs even if there are no injuries.

For me it seems likely England may have to consider carrying on with 6 batsmen. Fitness will be key with the bowlers but the first issue is the spinner. If Monty Panesar does not improve and "The King of Spain" Ashley Giles is not fully fit then I think England have to play to their strengths, namely the seam attack. Panesar will at least get plenty of matches to show something. At present a fit Giles is a better option as he has taken 100 wickets and is a decent fielder who can come to the party when the heat is on as he showed last year. Panesar is at present a poor bowler, a mule in the field for a team with 3 or 4 fast bowlers already and a no 11 batsman with dreams of being a no 10. So unless Panesar improves I would not bother with a spinner and Collie and KP had better start that extra practise I mentioned. Giles may be able to play later but I want him 100% fit with some form in the book.

Most controversially I think England need to look at their line up even with Flintoff. If we can find a 6th batsmen who is competent then Flintoff at 7 and G Jones or any wickie at 8 is a strong order in theory. England won two close uns and hence the series last year because McGrath stepped on a ball and Ponting said 'Bowl' - seriously all captains should be brainwashed not to have that word in their vocabulary at toss time. Other than that they were able to rotate 4 diverse seamers. We will not have that advantage this time as Jones reverse swing is unlikely to be available so may need to bat out some tests.

Seam Bowling wise it is possible to consider Mahmoud, Plunkett, Hoggard, Harmison and Flintoff as a pretty good 5. Even Jon Lewis and Anderson under the right conditions can offer something - I want to see Simon Jones bowl before I mention his name. Better than last year even Hoggard now has the new ball bowling to take their left handers out.

So do we have 6 batsmen? Well that is the issue. Arguably Bell, Cook and Collingwood are under the gun still to prove themselves. However Collingwood now has a decent recent record and at some point one has to get beyond perception and accept the numbers. Bell is the opposite loved by some but take out Bangladesh and cream on top innings and you have very little. Given the situation trying to get someone else in and create a squad of batsmen is a good idea - even if implicitly it seems as though we are using Pakistan as a sounding board. I say so what! it is the Ashes that really counts.

Of course if you ask me what England most need to win it is Steve Harmison to bowl like he did when he went to no 1 in the world. I was shocked at the array of garbage he, at times, bowled at Lords against Pakistan. Maybe he was not fully fit but England must ensure he gets and stays fit and has his self esteem fully up for it. Anyone at Lords last year will know what he can do to an Australian batting line up. He is unplayable at times, maybe wicket dependent. Honestly at Perth with the ball flying who would want to face him? Last away Ashes series on crumbling wickets he was hard to play when finally given a chance.

In conclusion 5 or 6 batsmen what we truly need is for our seamers to be fit and bowl to their limits. We have to be ruthless and disregard unfit players. We should now be sending our bowling coaches to work on Mahmoud's stamina and Plunkett's accuracy. In my opinion injuries should not be an excuse for England to tamely lose this winter. We have the players and the depth, we just need to end the muddled thinking and start demanding Harmison bowls better. Without Giles and without improvement by Panesar we should consider a seam only attack whether it is 4 or 5 bowlers. So on balance without a new break through by a batsman I would play as last year IF Flintoff is fit or 6 batters if he is not.