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At the end of an international summer that seems strangely to have been long and miserable, and yet hardly to have started at all, England have reserved their most quixotic selection for the final Test, which starts at the Oval on Thursday. Into a 13-man party come Darren Maddy, Ronnie Irani, Graeme Swann and Ed Giddins. Out go Mark Butcher, Graeme Hick, Chris Read and Peter Such.

Irani, the Lancastrian who found regular first-team cricket at Essex, played twice against India three years ago, when he made a good impression with his clean striking. At 27, he is playing better now, having added a layer of responsibility to the exuberance that flows naturally from his appealing personality. This is a man who enjoys what he does and, my word, England need a few chaps like that.

It seems more likely Irani will bat at No 7 than Graeme Swann will make his Test debut. The 20-year-old all-rounder from Northamptonshire owes his promotion to the fact that his batting substantially supports his still-green off-spinners. Even if he does not play at the Oval he would be a sensible choice for this winter's tour of South Africa as the sort of player who would learn something.

Maddy, 25, and Giddins, three years older, have been rewarded for consistent performances for their counties. Maddy, the Leicestershire opener, played two one-day internationals last year, and every cricketer will hope for his sake that he makes a better fist of things than Aftab Habib, his county team-mate, who struggled so badly in the first two Tests and was not given a third chance to justify his inclusion.

Giddins, the Warwickshire pace bowler, will be pleased to get one chance. On many occasions in the past 18 months, since he returned to first-class cricket, he must have doubted that an opportunity to play Test cricket would ever materialise. Now he contends with Alan Mullally and Chris Silverwood for a place.

He is frequently described as a ``colourful'' character (which he is) and that colour did not commend him to the men who, until last week, helped to pick the side. In fact there was a black ball in the bag, which has mysteriously disappeared. It may have had something to do with the one-year ban he served in 1997 for using cocaine when he was a Sussex player. It may have had something to do with doubts that have been raised about his action. Whatever they were, he is now on the cusp of a Test debut.

``I want to make up for lost time,'' Giddins said yesterday. He admitted that he did not begin the season well but, after taking five wickets in a National League game at Leicester, ``it suddenly clicked. I'm like Angus Fraser. I bowl better the more I bowl.'' He has bowled a lot in the last two years, and has yet to miss a championship match for his new county.

The most unlucky casualty is Such, who bowled far better than Phil Tufnell at Old Trafford and is rewarded by demotion. Why oh why would anybody in his right mind want to be an off-spinner when he could be better off digging roads? To be fair to Tufnell, which is not always possible, he has known success at the Oval, where his left-arm spin has contributed to England victories against Australia and West Indies this decade.

Butcher could also be thought unfortunate. Appointed captain for the match in Manchester, after Nasser Hussain felt he could not trust his broken finger, he is now cast aside to accommodate Maddy. It must be odd for Butcher to contemplate that, one match after he was entrusted with the greatest gift a player can receive, he is not considered worthy of a place in the team.

According to David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, Maddy is ``a model pro who deserves his chance'', which is fair enough. Butcher has been short of runs since he made a hundred against Australia in Brisbane at the start of the last Ashes series, though no shorter than Graham Thorpe, who has retained his place. Maddy won the nod ahead of Michael Vaughan, the Yorkshire batsman, on the grounds of better form and, though this was left unsaid, the fact he has spent longer in the queue.

The other pair to be dropped have contrasting histories. Read, who will go to South Africa, surrenders the gloves to Alec Stewart for this game so that England can field five bona fide bowlers. He has gained valuable experience in the three Tests he has played, and is a wiser man for it, if not yet a significantly better player.

Hick is a different case altogether. Recalled to the team for the eighth time at Old Trafford, where he failed, he was always going to make way for Hussain when the captain reported fit. His selection for the last match was the most feeble for years and led directly to the sacking of Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting.

Hussain, who is not playing for Essex in their current match against the tourists, will be playing for the first time in a month when he takes his place at No 3, a risk in itself. His finger has taken longer to heal than expected but it is essential he goes straight back into the side to restore the leadership missing at Old Trafford, when the players looked inert.

The captain is the first to acknowledge that England have played poor cricket this summer. After a slow start the New Zealanders have developed a sense of unity that emphasises the lack of spirit in the England dressing room. Whatever happens this week, Hussain and Duncan Fletcher, the coach, must base their future selections on that significant premise.

England's squad for the fourth Test against New Zealand at the Oval, starting on Thursday:

                                        Age  Tests

MA Atherton       (Lancashire)          31   89
DL Maddy          (Leicestershire)      25    0
N Hussain         (Essex, capt)         31   41
GP Thorpe         (Surrey)              30   56
AJ Stewart        (Surrey, wkt)         36   89
MR Ramprakash     (Middlesex)           29   37
RC Irani          (Essex)               27    2
GP Swann          (Northants)           20    0
AR Caddick        (Somerset)            30   24
AD Mullally       (Leicestershire)      30   15
CEW Silverwood    (Yorkshire)           24    1
PCR Tufnell       (Middlesex)           33   37
ESH Giddins       (Warwickshire)        28    0