Blind Faith

On the one hand it's quite comforting to see an England scorecard where the number seven and eight batsmen both score over sixty - but on the other hand it's very alarming that numbers five and six barely survive an over between them.

Loyalty to players, and the wish to give them an extended run in the side is very admirable, but when it turns misguided, to the point of starting to appear simply stubborn, then it becomes very worrying indeed.

Surely there's also an element of it starting to become counter-productive to the player himself. What Collingwood really needs is a run of games away from the spotlight, away from the critical eyes of bolshie bloggers, where he can rediscover some form and start scoring runs again. Instead, his every move is analysed, and his technique is open for comment from any Tom, Dick or Nasser. The best thing the selectors can do is to have a quiet word along the lines of 'score some decent runs for your county during the rest of the season and you'll probably be on the winter tour' - and then give the likes of Key, Shah and maybe even Rashid a chance.

I actually hope that England don't have to bat again in this test for more than the obvious reason that it would mean an innings victory. A second go around would give Collingwood or Bell the chance to scrape together a half decent score - which would give the selectors the excuse to pick them again. What they need is a break.