Quote ="Andy Gilder"If you don't play Bopara as a batsman only, then your options are to either play Bell and pray he discovers which end of the bat to hold somewhere in the next week or to go with Patel at five, Prior at six and an extra bowler.'"
Given the inherent conservatism of the selectors I'd be surprised to see two changes to the top 6 from the Pakistan series, despite Bell's loss of form. What worries me is that we seem to be considering Bopara even though he's sufficiently hampered by injury to be unable to bowl. If he was an established player of proven Test quality it might be more understandable, but he isn't, and surely there's a risk he may not be capable of giving 100% physically while batting and fielding in debilitating heat and humidity? I get the feeling Patel is finally beginning to make the right impression with Flower and will be the best bet.
If we do go with Patel at 5 and Prior at 6 the extra bowler has to be Bresnan, otherwise the tail is just too weak. We can't have five bowlers if three of them are Anderson, Panesar & Finn.
