Wright the Wrong Choice?

The big question on everyone's lips round the England camp is what the balance of the bottom five places in the batting order will be. The top six has picked itself, with captain Strauss sure to be partnered by Cook with the Englishmen by trade Trott and Pieterson looking to form a solid middle order in the land of their birth. Collingwood will retain the number five position and Matt Prior is more than good enough to bat at number six. After that, Strauss and the selectors have a difficult task.

Balance was the talk of the ODI series, with South Africa struggling to select a lineup that satisfied the needs of both the bowling and batting departments. With Andrew Flintoff now retired, England would love a ready made replacement to slot in at number 7. But Flintoff was a once in a lifetime player; a batsman with of destructive capabilities on his day, and a bowler of frightening ability even when it wasn't.

There is talk that England will try and replace him like for like with Luke Wright, a player who - like Freddie - plies his trade under the label of an all rounder. He too is a powerful right hander and a bowler capable of breaking the 90mph barrier. However, for the moment at least he is not a man capable of winning a Test match with either bat or ball and a quick recap of Freddie's finest hours of late for England explain why Wright should not make his Test match bow next week.

Although we all recall those halcyon days of 2005 when Flintoff emptied bars by swashing his buckle in that greatest of Ashes summers, in truth that was the last time he changed a game for England with the bat. As injuries blighted his career he found it easier lacing up his bowling boots than putting on his pads after extended periods on the sidelines. If you need any more proof then think no further back to Lord's when a devastating spell ended England's hoodoo at the home of cricket against the players in the baggy green.

In that series it was Broad and Swann who provided the lower order runs, so in truth Strauss is arguably only looking for a bowler who can bat, as opposed to a genuine all rounder and this must be the strategy if England are serious about building on their excellent ODI series win. Extending the batting lineup and only playing four front line bowlers would be a step back from the aggressive attitude that served them so well thus far on the tour and a step in the wrong direction.

However many runs you get, in order to win a Test match you must take 20 wickets and England's best chance of doing that is to select a fifth bowler and trust the batsmen to do their job and give them something to bowl at. With this in mind I would expect Stuart Broad to be promoted to number 7. The combination of him and Swann at 7 and 8 is far from a weak one, and although it undoubtedly draw yet more media comparison between him and Freddie on an individual basis, it would be nothing more than the most positive selection for the team.

It is a given that Anderson will take one of the remaining slots now that he has proved his fitness and Ryan Sidebottom has bowled himself into contention in the final warm up game with 5-42. The fact that he may generate rough for Swann on what is not known as a spinner's paradise at Centurion will also count in his favour. This leaves just one space and given his selection for both warm up games and the quick pitch it may be the case that Wright does get the nod. To my mind this seems like a defensive selection and I would have liked to see a fit Onions of Plunkett getting more of a run out on the tour. If England were concerned about the length of the tail then Plunkett is not incapable and both are more complete bowlers than Wright. What is certain is that this will be a real test of England's selection committee as they try and balance a side without the sizeable counterweight of Mr Flintoff.