Moores set to deal familiar hand

When, just a few days into his official tenure, a ball reared off a previously lifeless Rose Bowl wicket and broke the finger of England's captain, Peter Moores might have begun to understand why his predecessor's face was so infrequently a smiling one. That weekend, when star batsman Kevin Pietersen damaged his calf while orchestrating a successful run-chase, his honeymoon period as coach may have started to feel less like a fortnight in the Caribbean and more like a long weekend in Pudsey.

And, while Marcus Trescothick captured headlines with a mammoth double-century against Monty Panesar's Northamptonshire, the services of England's senior pro remain tantalisingly out of his reach.

Since the injuries to two of England's key cogs, little has been given away, although Vaughan, at one point seemingly certain to miss the opening Test starting on Thursday, has at least "improved", according to Martyn Moxon, his coach at Yorkshire. Still, there is a good chance that both will miss the game, which leaves Moores to cast around for another batsman. Owais Shah is a good bet, with strong early season performances augmenting the claim he staked over a year ago with a commanding Test debut in India. Andrew Flintoff's second half-century for Lancashire today may just be enough to persuade the selectors to retain him at no.6, in which case another second-string batsman would not have to be dusted down. Should that be necessary, Ed Joyce would be favourite, although Ravi Bopara and even Robert Key, scorer of a double century in the corresponding match three summers ago, could be considered, providing a timely reminder of his talent with a big century against a Durham attack with three England bowlers.

When the batsmen, and how many of them there will be, have been decided on, Moores and his colleagues will have to decide which way to jump in the wicket-keeping roundabout which is an issue starting to assume the sort of graveyard connotations that the left-wing of England's football team has. Matt Prior was clear favourite before the season, as the best batsmen of the contenders. However, he has not made significant runs this season, in direct contrast to the man whose competition for the Sussex gloves he beat off, Tim Ambrose, who has rattled up a double century and several 50s. Paul Nixon would probably be the best option to win a Test Match tomorrow, but England badly need to out their faith in someone who can hold down the job for a long period, and Nixon, for all his ability to talk like an overexcited 8 year old, does not have youth on his side. Still, Prior's glovework is seen as suspect by some, and it remains a mystery that James Foster, who, but for a broken arm, may well have cut off Alec Stewart's test career a year early, seems out of the reckoning. It's anyone's guess, but the best chance is that Moores will go with what he knows and select Prior.

Mercifully the bowling situation is more settled. The habitual opening pair of recent years, Harmison and Hoggard, have both been in fine fettle: Harmison tops the bowling averages, while Hoggard today ran through a batting line up and took 5 for the second time this season. If four bowlers is the plan, then you can throw in Panesar and forget about it. However, opt for 5, and there is a problem. Stuart Broad's knee injury has ended his chances of a debut, while the remaining options are sparse. Possibly the best of them is Liam Plunkett, who has taken wickets and scored a few runs on return from the World Cup, where he was unfairly discarded early on. James Anderson may be a better bowler, but to play him would mean batting one of Hoggard, Harmison or Panesar at 8, which they might just get away with against West Indies, but against the better teams is fail dangerous.

When all is said and done, and despite the Ashes whitewash, England still have a pretty good idea of their first choice Test team, which is not drastically different from the side that toured Australia. The challenge for Moores is to try and achieve what Duncan Fletcher had become unable to, and motivate the players, especially the more mercurial ones. Fail to deliver a convincing result against one of the weakest Test sides, the honeymoon will never have materialised, and he could well be checking the terms of his pre-nup.