Line and Length - Times Online - WBLG: The final stretch

Last rites will be read over England's pitiful tour of Australia during the next few days. In the old days, when it took more time to get anywhere, a tour of New Zealand was usually tagged on to the end of an Ashes tour as a consolation prize should the main winter's activity have gone badly. But England have already played and beaten - well, drawn with - New Zealand and now they have to go through two more thrashings at the hands of the school bully before they can return to snow-clad Blighty.

Or will this tour end in triumph? Can England, on the back of two wins in a row (something they've only done once in their previous 36 matches) extend the winning streak and head home with something to sing about? Possibly, but much depends on them winning tosses, getting out of the blocks quickly and bowling with control throughout 50 overs. Oh, and fielding professionally, too. Pretty much what they did in their past two matches, in other words.

The England squad is fairly predictable now that Michael Vaughan is heading home injured (what a great boost for confidence it was, Duncan Fletcher saying yesterday that Andrew Flintoff was much happier and a better player when not captaining England). So... Flintoff will be back as captain, Loye will probably open with Joyce, and the rest of the team will be Bell, Strauss, Collingwood, Flintoff, Nixon, Dalrymple, Plunkett, Mahmood and Panesar.

Personally, I'd rather have Bopara in the side, having been impressive in his only game on tour so far, at the expense of Loye (with Bell moving up one place) or Dalrymple. I'd also rather that Broad was in for Mahmood and that Nixon just disappeared and was never heard from again. But none of that will happen, I'd wager. Poor old Chris Read must wonder why he bothered packing for this tour. He has done barely anything wrong and is a better batsman than Nixon, just less gobby.

Australia are without Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson has something to prove in his stead. Watson was a near certainty to play in the Ashes and the World Cup before getting injured at the start of the winter and missing all that whitewash glory. Now that Symonds is injured, Watson can regain bragging rights as Australia's best all-rounder. Less aggressive than Symonds, he is still capable of making big scores and bowls better.

Australia surely have to give Watson a go at the expense of Cameron White, although Brad Hogg is another bits and pieces player who deserves more than the one game he has had this series. Mitchell Johnson is likely to be the other man to be left out of the squad of 13.