End this nonsense with Dawson and pick Malan

MY feeling after England’s hammering at Trent Bridge was that too much was made about their supposedly gung-ho batting. It is the balance of the side that is the problem — and it should be addressed during this crucial third Test. I never went into a home Test as captain thinking I needed six bowlers, so I don’t understand where that approach has come from. When you’ve got a four-man seam attack — and two of those are Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad — you don’t need a second spinner. On top of that, Ben Stokes got better and better with the ball, and Toby Roland-Jones will have a point to prove on his debut. The problem England have landed themselves with is this nonsense about Liam Dawson being their first-choice spinner, rather than Moeen Ali, who is the leadingg wicket-taker in this series. At Trent Bridge, it felt as if there were too many bowlers, and as a result Dawson bowled overs which Moeen should have bowled. Dawson isn’t one of England’s best eight batsmen, and he’s not their best spinner, so you have to wonder what his role is. This would be sorted out if England decide to play Dawid Malan instead of Dawson, which would strengthen their batting line-up without significantly weakening their bowling. Some people have wondered whether it would be fair to move Moeen down to No 8, especially because his stats are so good at No 7. But I don’t have a problem with that. You don’t organise a team around where Moeen is going to bat. You do what’s best for the side. Right now, that’s bolstering the batting. Don’t forget how well South Africa bowled at Trent Bridge — and Kagiso Rabada will be back from his ban for this game. They’ll go in with the ideal balance — four seamers plus a spinner. It’s a tried-and-trusted method and England should take note. The most important thing is that the batting has to gel. I didn’t see too much of a problem with their approach at Trent Bridge, where five of the top six got out playing defensively in the first innings. The only one who didn’t was Joe Root, who had played like a dream for his 78. I would say, though, that in the second innings they showed they are not inclined to knuckle down. Under Trevor Bayliss, they have defended a smaller percentageper of deliveries from seamersse than any other Test nationn — 28 per cent. This teamt have a lot of talent, but they must be smarter. That’s my main concern — not the batting tempo. MoeenM is a good case study. I Iw would have loved to have captainedcapt him, because he’s such a talent.t But I would also have found him frustrating. At Trent Bridge, he made Faf du Plessis look like a genius. In the first innings, Du Plessis moved to point, and Moeen picked him out next ball. In the second, the man on the sweep at 45 degrees moved to square leg. What did Moeen do? He swept Keshav Maharaj straight to him. That’s what I mean by being smart. It’s no good all that talent if you don’t channel it. And there is no point having six bowlers when history tells you it’s one too many. We’re about to find out a lot more about Root’s side — and it may determine the fate of the series.