Just reading the news out of London this morning that James Pattinson is to be sent home from England having suffered an “early stage low back stress fracture”. I tweeted during the second that I was worried he was hurt and am sad that that worry has become reality.

This is not a blog to say “I told you so though”. Simply put, the return home of J Pattinson presents a massive opportunity to Australia. There was an obvious sameness about the fast bowling attack at Lords that could now be broken up with the selection of James Faulkner. I know I decried the notion of mass changes to the team for the test at Old Trafford but this misery for Pattinson presents the opportunity to select a genuine all rounder who swings the ball and plays with aggression. He would bat number 8 and take the new bowl with Ryan Harris if selected in my view.

It will be a courageous selection with the series on the line. The obvious replacement is the return of Mitchell Starc and that is the “safe” option but given his form in the first test I think it is better for the selectors to be bold rather than revert to type here.

The other news overnight suggest a hint that Matthew Wade maybe set to be recalled as a batsman. Does Australia really need more disruption to its top six? Surely the better option is to give the guys in the top six a final chance in the 3rd test to get the job done. Afterall these make shift solutions (a wicketkeeper playing as a batsman is obviously one such solution) to real problems in the team so rarely work why risk it now?

Selecting a cricket team when the team’s form is down is no doubt a hard job. Even harder is to have the courage to stick with the team the selectors thought could win at Lords despite the shambolic result. The question is: will the selectors show courage and stick with the last side (injury aside) or bow to the pressure of a country of fans and pundits whose expectations are too high?

Only time will tell!