Cricket: England face hard decisions

By ANGUS FRASER

MELBOURNE - With the Ashes lost, England have a wonderful opportunity to use one of the world's biggest cricketing occasions, the Melbourne test, as the venue to take their first steps into a brave new future.

At the first three test matches in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and against Nasser Hussain's strongest available team, Australia crushed the tourists as comprehensively as any side has in the little urn's history.

With this in mind, what have England to lose in the remaining two tests, here and in Sydney, by selecting players who may make the world champions work harder for victory when the Ashes series next comes around in 2 1/2 years?

Alec Stewart, and to a slightly lesser extent Andrew Caddick, have been magnificent servants to English cricket. But, following another hammering at the hands of Australia, are they, at age 39 and 33, where the future lies?

The answer is no. So why not let players such as James Foster, Chris Read, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Alex Tudor show their credentials?

Admittedly, none of those has made the most of the chances they have been given but, if England's goal is to beat this formidable Australian side one day, then the planning has to start now, not in five months' time against Zimbabwe.

There is no pleasant way of saying "thank you and goodbye" to players who have given good service, but if Australia can dispense with the likes of Mark Waugh, surely England should not be afraid to make a similar jump.

Although the selectors may be toying with the idea of change, it appears unlikely they will have the courage to go through with it.

"We will select as we have always selected and that is to win a test match," Hussain said. "If that can incorporate a few people for the future, then it is a double bonus.

"But we are not good enough to start handing out caps willy-nilly. You are either good enough or you are not."

Australia (probable): S. Waugh (capt), M. Hayden, J. Langer, R. Ponting, D. Martyn, M. Love, A. Gilchrist, B. Lee, J. Gillespie, S. MacGill, G. McGrath.

England (probable): N. Hussain (capt), M. Trescothick, M. Vaughan, M. Butcher, J. Crawley, A. Stewart, C. White, R. Dawson, A. Caddick, S. Harmison, M. Hoggard.

- INDEPENDENT