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On the eve of the final Test of the summer, which begins today at the Oval with England and New Zealand searching for a victory that would give them the series 2-1, the rain gods unleashed a minor storm over the capital. It may have been their way of reminding England that their performance this season has been unpardonably wet.

Nasser Hussain takes a break from training at Lord's

Nasser Hussain, the England captain, who missed the last Test in Manchester with the finger he broke during the second game of the series at Lord's, is aware of the public impression the players have made. So yesterday he took out his bugle and played a more robust tune, hoping that everybody will gather under his standard. First, he must convince people he knows which way he is marching.

Hussain, back in the side today, sees the match not as the end of a dismal summer but the prelude to a brighter future. There are Test debuts for Darren Maddy, the Leicestershire opening batsman, and for Ed Giddins, the Warwickshire pace bowler. Another pacer, Chris Silverwood of Yorkshire, should make his first Test appearance in this country but there is no place for Graeme Swann, 20, the Northamptonshire all-rounder.

Silverwood will play if Hussain and David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, feel he is 'right'. He pulled out of Yorkshire's NatWest Trophy semi-final at Bristol last Sunday after his wife, Emma, was involved in a car accident. If he does not play, Alan Mullally will return to the side, having missed the Manchester Test, where England fielded two spinners.

There are two further changes to that side, besides Hussain's return. Ronnie Irani of Essex bats at No 7, as the all-rounder, behind Alec Stewart, who takes over the gloves from Chris Read. Only six men who played in Manchester have been retained, though whether that represents change or confusion can only be judged over the course of the next year.

The immediate task is to win this Test, which will not be easy, despite New Zealand's innings defeat by Essex last weekend. The tourists won by nine wickets at Lord's and were well placed to win at Old Trafford until the rain intervened.

Chris Cairns faces a fitness test on his left knee this morning but will not play purely as a batsman, and Geoff Allott's back has already led to his exclusion. Shayne O'Connor plays in his place and Andrew Penn stands by for Cairns, who has contributed a full hand with bat and ball to New Zealand's cricket.

The full houses at the Oval will be less concerned with these ailments than with England's aberrations. It seems impossible that they can play as feebly as they did at Lord's or Manchester, where they looked dead on their feet in the field. Hussain mentioned 'body language' yesterday, which is a phrase that covers a multitude of things, and there is no doubt that England will look more lively at the Oval.

Irani's return will help in that respect. He is an engaging man who burns with the desire to play for England. Giddins should also assist the process. He is a bit of a card, and has waited years for this chance to show what he can do. Maddy's professional diligence is well-known, and Hussain is back to provide firm direction which, after the Manchester shemozzle, is much needed.

Hussain spoke yesterday of ``long-term policy''. As he also spoke of Stewart reverting to the wicketkeeper's role for longer than this Test, it is plain there is some hard thinking to do. Stewart was relieved of that burden earlier this summer, after he was stripped of the captaincy. Now he is the stumper again and, in the captain's view, is as likely as not to remain so.

It is an old story, no nearer resolution. Although Hussain is right to identify sensible planning as the most important aspect of selection, addressing the problem honestly, rather than talking generally about it, means deciding what part players like Stewart can play in that future.

However strongly Graveney and others feel about David Lloyd's criticisms in this paper on Monday of the dressing-room spirit, both Hussain and Duncan Fletcher, the in-coming coach, should know what needs to be done if the team are to develop. Next week they discuss all those things when they sit down with Graveney to pick the touring party for South Africa.

There are hard decisions to be made and nothing Hussain has done so far, as opposed to what he has said, indicates that he has the will to act as decisively as he must. He thinks that ``90 per cent, if not 100'' of the players on view at the Oval will go on tour. That troublesome 10 per cent is worth thinking about.

If England lose this Test they will go to the bottom of the unofficial world rankings, drawn up by Wisden Cricket Monthly, and New Zealand will go above them. It cannot be said, therefore, that this summer's misery has run its course. All people can do is cross their fingers and hope that, just this once, England give them something to enjoy. In their own way those spectators, loyal and well-meaning, have struggled as much as the players.

Probable teams

England (probable): 

MA Atherton
DL Maddy
* N Hussain
GP Thorpe
MR Ramprakash
AJ Stewart
RC Irani
AR Caddick
CEW Silverwood
ESH Giddins
PCR Tufnell

New Zealand:

MJ Horne
MD Bell
*SP Fleming
NJ Astle
RG Twose
CD McMillan
AC Parore
CL Cairns or A Penn
DJ Nash
S O'Connor
DL Vettori.

Umpires: S Venkataraghavan (India) & G Sharp (England).

4 July 1999: First Cornhill Test: Hussain crowns his accession with victory in tale of Tudor and Stewart
26 July 1999: Second Cornhill Test: England in deep despair
10 August 1999: Third Cornhill Test: England hierarchy toil on the low road to contempt