Thoughts from the Oval

A few musings about the current Test match:

- I really like the look of Jonathan Trott. He looks solid, compact and able to dig in. These may all be traits of Paul Collingwood but where Collingwood sometimes decelerates the scoring rate with his lack of free flowing technique, Trott looks capable of playing a patient but sensible innings. One for the foreseeable future, no doubt and he will have a big role to play in South Africa this winter. Expect him and Bopara and Bell to form the backbone of England's middle order at the expense of Collingwood, at least until Kevin Pietersen is fit again.

- England were right not to pick Monty Panesar. Put simply, he's not a very good player. If you're struggling to play well for Northamptonshire at Division Two then an Ashes deciding Test match is beyond you. He did precious little when given the chance at Cardiff and though the pitch has shown signs of taking outrageous spin, Graeme Swann and the four seamers are more than capable of exploiting it. See Australia's first innings for evidence of that.

- Will the Australians give Andrew Flintoff a guard of honour? Or rather, should they? It's a toughie. Michael Atherton has argued in The Times that Flintoff cannot be classed as a 'great' player and surely such marks of respect should only be afforded to those of the highest calibre. But he is certainly a cricketer with a distinguished reputation and the Aussies make no secret of their admiration for him. Will they extend him the courtesy of a guard of honour in his last Test innings? We may well find out later today.

- Should Steve Harmison retire too? We all know we're watching Flintoff's last ever Test match but will it be the last for his close mate Harmy? A bowler that England cannot rely on anymore, Harmison's role in this series has always been slightly peripheral and as much as a threat he looks at certain times, the fact is the England management appear to have lost patience with his inconsistency, much like they have with Panesar. Perhaps he should go down the same route as Freddie and call it a day, on his own terms?

- If England do win the game and the Ashes, it'll be an outstanding achievement. It won't necessarily elevate England to the top of the world rankings and we'll still have a way to go before we can compete with best sides. But a victory in this manner will have required supreme mental toughness. People can harp on all they like about England only having one hundred in the series but the majority of their innings totals have been team efforts - a lot of the players getting 40's, 50's and 60's. Hundreds are better but if everyone puts in a collective effort you end up with a commanding score. It's a team game, after all.

- Andrew Strauss deserves a knighthood. Well, not really but regardless of whether he leads England to Ashes glory or not, credit must go to him for his responsible batting and, at times, astute leadership. Just call him Michael Vaughan mark 2.

Play on, lads. Play on.