England Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 10 February 2009 /

England's crisis has come about because of a lack of leadership and instability so the selectors must stick by Andrew Strauss, says Ralph Ellis.

England's cricket team have already had enough leaders in the last couple of years to make Chelsea look stable. So actually, far from being the moment to swing the axe again, the debacle in Jamaica is exactly the time NOT to make changes.

Of course it's all too easy - especially from the other side of the world - to insist that heads must roll when the team have just been skittled out for less than 60 by a West Indies side who were supposed to be just a gentle warm-up for the Ashes. And set against the backdrop of the internal rows that tore the team apart just after Christmas, it's even more tempting to listen to those who want everybody sacked and would sooner pick any 11 men they could find sober from the Barmy Army (actually that might be more difficult than it sounds).

But given that England's crisis has come about because of a lack of strong leadership, now is when the selectors must stick by Andrew Strauss and his new number two Alastair Cook before Friday's Second Test in Antigua.

Strauss has already been lampooned for his laid back approach to all that went wrong in Jamaica, suggesting no more than that 'the guys need to think hard about what happened.' But it's encouraging to hear Cook facing up to the reality of the situation in this morning's papers.

At 24-years-old he has an old head on his shoulders, and seems to understand that the healing process starts by looking at the man in the mirror. In his case that's dealing with the fact that it's too long since he made a really big score.

"My form is a concern and the lack of a century for a while is a monkey I'd like to get off my back," he says. I've scored eight 50s in the last year and if I'd converted three of them we would not be talking about this. It's down to me to change it. Maybe I've been thinking about it too much."

Cook and Strauss have both been guilty of what seems a common left-handers' curse, flailing the bat outside off stump. Ian Bell might have been an answer to replace one of the openers but he's even more out of touch. England's top order is not functioning and it seems certain that Owais Shah will come into the team.

Will it all make the difference? Cook says: "Don't forget we were one down in New Zealand and came back to win." If you trust that fighting talk, there's [3.75] on offer for England to win the four match series. As for Friday, on a flat wicket the draw is favourite at [2.3] and Betfair punters give England a good chance of fighting back at [3.2] to win while the West Indies are [3.9].

Five things you might not know about Antigua

1. The population is nearly 85,000 - and they share 365 natural beaches, one for every day of the year

2. It was the base for Lord Nelson's fleet and he founded the dockyard in 1725

3. It's Eric Clapton's favourite island - and he founded the Crossroads rehab centre there

4. The island's most famous cricketer Sir Viv Richards scored the fastest Test hundred there - off 56 balls - against England in 1986

5. Oprah Winfrey and Giorgio Armani are among the well-heeled residents who own homes in Galley Bay

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: