England considering five-man bowling attack
Andrew Strauss desperate to win fifth Test
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Thursday, 05, Mar 2009 10:12
England captain Andrew Strauss has admitted he is considering playing five bowlers in the must-win final Test against the West Indies in Trinidad.
The West Indies racked-up a first innings total of 749 runs in the fourth Test and in the absence of Andrew Flintoff, the England bowing attack looked tame. The likes of Steve Harmison and Amjad Khan are in contention to freshen up the seam-bowling department in a potential five-man bowling attack.
England could also decide to add another spinner to their attack and this would bring Monty Panesar and the young Adil Rashid into the equation.
"There is definitely more of a case for five bowlers than there has been previously," Strauss said. "That is definitely one option we are considering.
"The exact balance of that bowling attack is important, and also whether we have got enough batting capability to get the runs we need to win the game."
Strauss also gave his backing to Ryan Sidebottom, who looked unfit in the fourth Test after suffering from a chronic Achilles injury, saying: "The medical staff feel that there hasn't been any deterioration (with the ankle) from last week, so medically I don't think there is a massive problem.
"Whether he can bowl quite at 100 percent or not is what we are not sure on and given he has spent so much time away from cricket every game he plays he should be getting better and better. You only get up to 100 percent by playing - that's something we need to factor in."
One definite change to the England line-up will be the return of Matt Prior behind the stumps after he returned from seeing his newborn baby back in England. If England do decide to go with a five-man bowling attack, then either Owais Shah or Ravi Bopara are expected to make way.