England set to axe flops after Aussies take charge
Bopara under threat as Flower prepares for deciding Ashes Test at the OvalENGLAND head coach Andy Flower insists he is ready to wield the axe ahead of the Ashes decider at the Oval after his side’s fourth Test humiliation.
Australia clinched victory by an innings and 80 runs early on day three at Headingley, levelling the series at 1-1 and ensuring they need only to draw the fifth Test to retain the urn.
Eighth-wicket pair Stuart Broad (61) and Graeme Swann (62) managed a 108-run stand that at least ensured England avoided a record home defeat, after they had resumed on 82-5, 261 runs behind.
But that was nowhere near enough to avoid a chastening defeat that looked inevitable after the abject failure of England’s top-order batsmen during the first two days’ play in Leeds.
And Flower admitted changes may need to be made in a bid to wrest the momentum back from Australia, with Ravi Bopara’s place at No3 in the batting order seemingly particularly at risk.
“You’ve got to have a think about that middle order. We’ve got one Test hundred in the series so far – captain Andrew Strauss has been holding the batting together a bit – and I think they Australia have got seven or eight. So that tells the story,” said Flower.
“Ravi Bopara has had a hard time. When he came in and scored three tons he looked good, composed, certainly talented enough, but the jury was still out about whether or not he was a No3. That’s still the case.”
Strauss said there was no need to panic, with the Oval Test still 10 days away, but admitted underperforming players could be culled.
“That was far below the level we think we should be playing at,” he said. “I would be very resistant to wholesale changes, but at the same time we have to make a judgement call about the best 11 players to win that last game.”
Paramount amongst those considerations will be whether Andrew Flintoff’s knee will allow him to play, and the all-rounder is to see a specialist today with a view to a quick decision.
“Hopefully we’ll know two or three days out from the Test match whether he’s fit enough to play,” added Strauss.
“Maybe he doesn’t need to bowl 28 overs a day, but he’s got to be able to bowl more than one spell. Having had a couple of weeks’ break, hopefully he will be in better shape for the Oval.”