England puts faith in giant-sized attack for Ashes battle

GIANTS in the land of Lilliputians.

GIANTS in the land of Lilliputians.

Well, things have not declined quite so disastrously to thus describe Australian cricket, but the selection of three of the tallest quick bowlers England have ever had was the most positive statement of intent on a day when the Ashes squad suggested a high degree of uncertainty about who their best batting options are outside the front five, and the front five itself.

Hoteliers in Australia should be put on notice because some big beds will be required for Steven Finn, Boyd Rankin and Chris Tremlett, who will be vying for the third seamer's slot for the first Test in Brisbane in November alongside James Anderson and Stuart Broad. It is a measure of Rankin's rapid emergence, and of the impression he made during the one-day series, that should a selection be made today, he would be the favourite.

The choice of all three means no place for Graham Onions, after another fine season for Durham, the county champions. The bowler, who said on Twitter that he was "gutted", will play for Natal during the winter and will not have been buoyed necessarily by the assertion of Geoff Miller, the national selector, that "geography is history". Miller meant that Onions could easily fly to Australia, should there be a problem with Anderson, but England have nailed their colours to a very tall mast instead.

Tim Bresnan is unlikely to be fit for the first Test, starting on November 21, and so has missed out on selection, but he will travel with the squad to rehabilitate in the hope that the next scans on his back injury are clear and he is available for the second or third Test onwards.

In effect, then, this is an 18-man squad, a prevarication that has allowed the selectors to pick two extra batsmen, Gary Ballance, of Yorkshire, and Michael Carberry, of Hampshire, which reflects on the difficulties England experienced against Australia's attack this summer.

Miller could find few positive things to say about either, except that, well, they had deserved their selections. Of course, sometimes selection is based on nothing more than gut instinct, but the feeling is that the inclusions of Ballance and Carberry owe as much to the distrust of others as much as their own qualities.

James Taylor had been picked as the first reserve for the Old Trafford Test, having scored a hundred against Australia at Hove when he played for Sussex as a guest. Nick Compton had begun the summer as Alastair Cook's opening partner, and had scored runs against Australia for both Somerset and Worcestershire. Neither are to be seen. Miller refused to close the door on either man but the inescapable conclusion is that the selectors simply have not liked what they have seen. With Taylor the issue is technical; the reservations with Compton are harder to pin down, but he is seen as too singular, intense and distant.

By picking a reserve opener and a middle-order player, there are clear reservations about the batting. Specifically, about the top three, now that Australia seem to have found a chink in Jonathan Trott's armoury, with effective and well directed short-pitched bowling, and given that they punctured the Alastair Cook/Joe Root partnership with some ease. As such, a reserve opener was necessary, and with Compton in Siberia, there was little alternative to Carberry.

He had appeared to be beset by nerves in Malahide, dropping two straightforward catches in the deep, when an experimental England side played Ireland. Nor did he paint the one-day series red, scoring a solitary half-century in a faltering opening partnership with Kevin Pietersen. Carberry is, though, a popular, hard-working professional, who has enjoyed consistent success with Hampshire, where he has expanded his game. He has played a solitary Test match against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2010.

Ballance's only appearance in England colours was also in Malahide, where he was bowled second ball for nought. He has enjoyed a fine season for Yorkshire and has impressed when with the Lions. Like Rankin, his first exposure to cricket came outside England, but Miller was quick to assert England's right by emphasising that the improvement of both has come within the bubble of county cricket.

Ballance will challenge Jonny Bairstow for the No6 position, as will Ben Stokes, the third uncapped player in the squad. Miller was unusually effusive about Stokes's potential, describing him as a "special player" and a positive influence around the dressing room. In keeping with a day when Miller and Hugh Morris, in one of his final press conferences as managing director of England Cricket, were keen to say a lot about very little, Miller hastily added that should not be taken as a slight on Chris Woakes, beaten to the flag by Stokes.

Everyone knows that these are difficult decisions; that there are a limited number of places available and that, sometimes, there may be little logic to selection hunches. Ultimately, the selectors will be judged on the outcome of their decisions, a point made by Morris, who poured scorn on the assertion by Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, that England are a "dour" side.

Stokes, then, returns to Australia, from where he was sent home during the winter for unprofessional conduct. England have been in forgiving mood: also in the touring party is Monty Panesar after his mid-season indiscretions with Sussex. When Miller confirmed that the spinner had been receiving professional help for his problems, Morris hurriedly interjected to stress that such matters are "confidential". Confidential or not, Panesar's selection, while deserved on past merit, highlights the paucity of alternatives.

The selectors also announced a 16-man Performance Program squad, which will spend time at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, followed by a month in Brisbane and Perth. The most eye-catching names are Alex Lees, the young Yorkshire batsman, and Sam Robson, the young Australian, who plays for Middlesex, who England hope to convince to throw his lot in with them. Morris was asked whether he had done so already, although no straight answer was forthcoming. England continue to cast their net as widely as possible.

The Times