Inconsistent and unreliable - there is much work to do

Alec Stewart England'S Most Capped Cricketer 23/03/2008

Win, lose or draw this Test, England will be fully aware they have a lot of work to do in all departments if they want to compete on a regular basis with the very best in world cricket.

Their ranking of fifth in the Testplaying league at the start of this New Zealand series gives a very clear picture of the inconsistencies of their play in recent times.

New Zealand are two places below England and on paper, man for man, are nowhere near as good. Only captain Daniel Vettori would warrant a place in the England side, yet as a team they have not looked out of their depth in this current series.

To win Tests you must score big totals - with hundreds coming from your top six batsmen - take 20 wickets and take your catches, stumpings and run-outs. This has been the case since the game was invented.

Kevin Pietersen's hundred on the opening day of this Test is the first of the series by any of the England top six - Tim Ambrose's century on his debut came while he was batting at seven. This statistic underlines why England have fallen below the standards expected from them.

Ryan Sidebottom has been the shining light in the bowling department, producing performances on all types of surfaces that have now cemented him in the side as the main front-line bowler.

With the dropping of Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard for the last two Tests, Sidebottom is now leading a relatively inexperienced attack.

I expect Hoggard to challenge strongly this summer to regain his place, while Harmison is at the crossroads of his international career.

Readers will know how highly I rate Harmison but for the last two years or so he has not produced the goods. He must return to Durham to find his form and decide if he still has the desire, mental strength and approach for Test cricket.

Whenever players are dropped opportunities open up for others and Stuart Broad and James Anderson now have the chance to build on their huge potential.

Anderson has been in and around the set-up since 2003 without ever establishing his place in the side but he is now in possession and must make sure he delivers the goods. Broad has impressed me from the moment I first saw him playing for Leicestershire - full of natural talent, with an excellent approach and attitude to his game.

I expect him to have a huge international career, and not just with the ball because I also see him developing into a very capable No.8 batsman.

Ambrose is the latest wicketkeeper-batsman England have tried and he has started very nicely with a 50 and a hundred in his first two games.

As a keeper he looks to have a natural talent in the way he catches the ball and moves his feet and, despite missing a couple of chances in the last Test, he deserves to be given a run in the side.

The keeping position has given the selectors more problems than any other over the last four years - they have now tried seven in both forms of the game to try to find the answer.

To be fair to Ambrose, he must be judged at the end of our summer after he has played 10 Tests. This will allow him to adjust to the international scene and everything that it brings as well as giving him time to show what he can do on a regular basis.

England still have a lot of questions to be answered and their all-round play must become more consistent and reliable.

This winter has been tough for them, but if they can win this final Test and the series it will allow them to start the summer in a more confident frame of mind.

******************** IT'S great news for English cricket that Andrew Flintoff is on the road to recovery following his fourth ankle operation.

He is currently in Abu Dhabi with his Lancashire team-mates on a preseason tour and the reports are promising.

Everyone will be desperate to get him in the England side again as soon as possible, but he must not be rushed back.

Once he has proved to the selectors - and more importantly, himself - that he can bowl four spells in a day at 85mph plus with no reaction, and that his batting is of the right standard to warrant a No.6 position, then he should return in an England shirt.

Any side with Freddie in it is a stronger unit and this is probably his last chance because I wouldn't think he will want any more surgery on his troublesome ankle.

That is why he must be 100 per cent fit for when he makes his long-awaited return.

England needs you, Freddie - but only when you are confident and ready to perform as a genuine world-class allrounder.