England seek right balance

Dominic Cork and Ronnie Irani will be considered

England's selectors face a dilemma over the balance of the team as they seek a winning formula for next week's final Test against India at The Oval.

The absence of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who has undergone a hernia operation to ensure he is fully fit for the winter Ashes tour, has made the selection panel's job a difficult one.

The options appear to be to find a like for like replacement, or go into the game with an extra specialist batsman.

Yorkshire's Craig White and Essex captain Ronnie Irani are the obvious choices if another all-rounder is included, but both have had injury problems recently.

Irani made a successful return to the England one-day side earlier this summer. He is short of match practice, however, after recently undergoing knee surgery.

Surrey's Rikki Clarke has caught the eye in his first full season of county cricket, but it would be asking a lot of a 20-year-old with less than a dozen first-class games behind him to throw him into a crucial Test match, even on his home ground.

Another possibility might be Somerset's Ian Blackwell, who will replace Flintoff at next month's Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, but his left-arm spin is unlikely to strike fear into the hearts of the Indian batsmen.

"There's no point in selecting an all-rounder just for the sake of it.

"If we don't feel there's an appropriate player around to fit the bill, then we will select eith a bowler or a batsman to strengthen those particular disciplines," said chairman of selectors David Graveney.

If England decide to go for an extra batsman, the obvious candidates are Mark Ramprakash and Ian Ward of Surrey, or Warwickshire's Nick Knight - all of whom have been in excellent form this season.

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Ramprakash and Ward have each made four centuries this summer, while Knight batted for more than six hours to make 133 against Surrey at Edgbaston on Friday.

The selectors must also decide whether to gamble on opening batsman Marcus Trescothick, who is still receovering from a broken thumb.

If they decide that the Ashes must also take priority as far as the left-hander is concerned, Kent's Robert Key will be given another chance to stake a claim for a place on the plane.

Key showed proimise in the second and third Tests, but 34 in the second innings at Headingley as England slumped to an innings defeat is his highest contribution so far.