Keep the faith

The result of the third Test - clearly a crucial match since England lead 1-0 in the five-Test series - is a matter of faith.

England plan to use Andrew Flintoff even though there are plenty of sensible people who believe that his knee may not last the full five days, He was the match-winner at Lord's. Can he repeat that trick again?

Australia will stick with Mitchell Johnson, who recently went 35 overs without taking a wicket which led us to suspect that maybe his skill had deserted him. Even against lowly Northants, Mitchell could only manage one tail-end wicket for a bucketful of runs. Ricky Ponting, the leader of the Johnson faith group, will not want a repeat of the performance.

There is another act of faith - in the weather. The British summer began with the suggestion that it would be suitable for daily barbeques. Now the Met Office has had a change of heart. The weather will be "unsettled." And we thought global warming was fact not faith.

One fact is indisputable. The England captain Andrew Strauss sometimes seems bewildered by the need to change bowlers, or fields, or strategy and there are those who wish Michael Vaughan was back, not matter how few runs came his way.

No need to worry about the Strauss run rate. Even as captain he has scored 1138 at 58.17 and only Graham Gooch has a better average with 58.72. If Strauss gets to fifty he usually presses on to 100 - the best conversion by any Englishman, and the best by any captain.

Oh, and by the way, Strauss rarely loses. In 14 Tests he has seven wins and one defeat; to West Indies this winter. At the same time he has made six hundreds and one fifty.

We may have to reassess his worth to the team particularly as the weathr forecasters suggest this match will be a draw, on a pitch the groundsman Steve Rouse says is like jelly already.

Keep the faith Steve; especially since I hear that today's rain may mean no play on the first day. It is still raining.