BUMBLE AT THE TEST
TELL JOE TO BAT AT THREE!
WHAT are England to do with this flaky top order? Keaton Jennings’s form has been woeful, while Gary Ballance is struggling. So put Joe Root at three! The new England captain can provide stability. I expect Mark Stoneman to come in at The Oval. I’ve mentioned Dawid Malan before and Tom Westley’s also in contention.
MASON’S TURN NOW
I’M not having this nonsense that Moeen Ali is the No 2 spinner. The selectors are keen on Mason Crane so why not give him a go at The Oval alongside Moeen? It’s a great place for a leg-spinner to start. Will Mark Wood be able to play three games in a row? There could be an opportunity for Toby Roland-Jones or Craig Overton.
CAPT MAINWARING MOMENT
SELECTORS usually say ‘Don’t panic Captain Mainwaring’ after a performance like this but they could make changes for the third Test. Jennings, Ballance, Wood and Liam Dawson are all under threat. They might allow Jonny Bairstow to concentrate on batting as Ben Foakes (right) is a real keeper-batsman prospect.
MORRIS DANCING BACK
CHRIS MORRIS’S absence at Lord’s was poor selection by South Africa. He has been the quickest bowler on either side here and produced two snorters to get rid of Joe Root and Alastair Cook. The yorker to Root swung so late it missed his straight bat and nobody bounces Cook out — Morris did!
BIRTHDAY BOY SHAUN TEES OFF
WE’VE got probably the nicest South African in the world — Shaun Pollock — working with us in the commentary box. He’s just celebrated his birthday, so what do you do with your family? Well, if you’re Shaun (right), you book to play nine holes of golf with the wife and girls walking around and watching you play! The course was shut but they let him play anyway.
ROCK ON WITH TOMMY
WITH the cricket going so badly for England I’m going to cheer myself up with a bit of golf this week. The Open is coming to my neck of the woods up in Birkdale. It’s a smashing part of the world and there’s a lovely beach at Formby. It’s a tough links course but I’m backing local man Tommy Southport. Or is it Tommy Blackpool? No, Tommy Fleetwood!
IT’S TIME TO STEP UP, LADS
FINAL word is that this was a sorry performance by England and will be unacceptable to the team, quite apart from anyone else. We have seen total inconsistency from England over the last 30 Tests and this was their sixth defeat in eight matches. So often it’s one step forward, two back and it all starts with those problems at the top of the order.