Selectors likely to err on side of experience

Having taken the plunge a fortnight ago and selected a squad labelled "Dad's Army" by certain areas of the media, it is difficult to see David Graveney, Nasser Hussain, Duncan Fletcher and Geoff Miller, the selection committee, moving in any other direction than they went for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

There have been many good things to come out of Hussain and Fletcher's period in charge of the England team but the most encouraging and probably stabilising factor has been the good run of opportunities they have given players once they have selected them. Under their management it appears unlikely we will return to the days of one-Test wonders and because of this it is unlikely that today's announcement will cause any surprises at all.

Whilst England showed plenty of character during the last two days of the match, even Hussain admitted that for the first three days his side were poor. In getting out of the hole they dug for themselves, they can travel to Edgbaston with confidence but the overall performance of the side in no way justified the "err on the side of experience, win at all cost" direction the selectors opted for.

England's performance was only average and, with the established players getting them out of strife, has left us none the wiser about the debatable selections. The three eye-brow raisers for the first Test – Alec Stewart, Dominic Cork and John Crawley – all did enough and can expect their names to be announced this morning at 10.15. However they have not yet proved England were wrong to dispense with their services in the first place and whether they performed better than the younger players we will never know.

It can only be hoped that youth will be given an opportunity next time round and it is encouraging to see Fletcher spending some time at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, looking at Simon Jones the 23-year-old Glamorgan fast bowler. Ian Bell's match-winning 85 not out for Warwickshire in the Benson & Hedges Cup should also have given evidence to the selectors, if not Bob Woolmer, the Warwickshire coach, that he is now back in form.

Cork will be the player under most pressure for his place. He was selected for Lord's on a "horses for courses" card and to his credit, ended up taking more wickets than any other bowler. However, having been picked because he had allegedly rediscovered his vital outswinger, he did not bowl or take his wickets in the way he was selected to.

In any event, Cork has to prove he has overcome the groin strain he suffered at Lord's and by bowling in Derbyshire's Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy match against Lancashire yesterday he has gone some way in doing this. Warwickshire's left-arm spinner Ashley Giles, is the likeliest to replace Cork.

With the Sri Lankans putting in a stronger performance than many imagined, it would appear that if the selectors wanted to be consistent then now is definitely not the time to bring in the younger brigade. In fact, as my colleague Henry Blofeld suggested during the first Test, there may be a case for adding even greater experience to the squad if we wish to ensure a win. Philip DeFreitas and Devon Malcolm must be sitting at home like excited kittens, waiting for the phone to ring.

PROBABLE ENGLAND SQUAD: N Hussain (capt), M E Trescothick, M P Vaughan, M A Butcher, G P Thorpe, J P Crawley, A J Stewart (wkt), A Flintoff, A F Giles, D G Cork, A J Tudor, A R Caddick, M J Hoggard.