shah the man to replace tresco

Shah - possible replacement for Tres.

By Dave Tickner

While Marcus Trescothick's exit from the Ashes tour with a recurrence of his "stress-related illness" raises serious questions about the decision to select him in the first place, it does vindicate the decision to base the academy squad in Perth.

Trescothick's replacement will come from this group of 14, and it includes four specialist batsmen; Robert Key, Ravi Bopara, Ed Joyce and Owais Shah.

Key is the obvious choice, but it would be a backward step.

He's been tried and found wanting at Test level before, and he hardly pulled up any trees in the Championship last season, averaging 36 and failing to reach 1,000 runs for the season.

The argument he's the most natural opener is also irrelevant, as England have their replacement opener in Alastair Cook - what they need is someone to slot in to his spot at number three.

That's a position where any of the other contenders have batted in their county careers and while Bopara and Joyce have great promise, Shah is the man I'd go for.

He has far greater experience than Bopara or Joyce and - crucially for me - has a real swagger about him.

He showed as much in his solitary Test appearance in India last winter, making 88 and 38 and enjoying verbal exchanges with most of the bowlers but Harbhajan Singh in particular.

His spiky character and self-confidence is just what's needed in the cauldron of an Ashes series, and he is the one man available who definitely wouldn't be fazed by the Australians.

If England go for the likeable but limited Key, the guffaws from Australia will be audible in Kent.

Worryingly, Andrew Flintoff is a massive fan of Key and we've already seen the effect of his support for Geraint Jones.

Trescothick's absence has given England a chance to take a bit of a gamble in their safety-first squad. They should take it and opt for Shah.