Despite sealing the Ashes by winning the fourth Test match in Durham, England captain Alastair Cook suggested that he would spring no surprises for the fifth and final fixture.
However, the opening batsman set tongues wagging before the start of the Oval Test when he revealed that bowling duo Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan would make their debut.
It was a move that divided opinion. While one change was enforced due to an injury to Tim Bresnan, England had not handed two debuts in a single Test for three years, and that was against Test minnows Bangladesh.
Some will accuse England of taking their foot off the pedal, for going easy on their great rivals, but some will appreciate Cook's wish to see a couple of newcomers in action ahead of the series in Australia in the winter.
After the opening day's play, the critics have had a field day after the debutant's combined figures read 0-105 off 23 overs, but you have to look a lot deeper before making a correct judgement on their overall performance.
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First of all, and perhaps most importantly, it should be taken into account that both players have been thrown into the firing line on arguably the flattest Test pitch that England has to offer. It was widely expected that it was a big toss to win, and England lost it.
Both players didn't receive much punishment from the majority of Australia's batsmen, but when you have such a shot-maker as Shane Watson at the crease, what do you do on a pitch that hardly offered anything?
Of course, both Woakes and Kerrigan would have encountered many a flat pitch, but it's a different environment in front of a capacity crowd and millions on television watching and judging their every delivery.
In all fairness, Woakes introduced a steady first day, but Kerrigan was introduced into the action considerably early for a spin bowler, and he was never given time to settle. As soon as he conceded 28 runs off his first two overs, the pressure that he was already carrying on his shoulders intensified.
The expectation before the start of play was that Chris Tremlett would come into the side at his home ground, but when you take the sentimental aspect out of the equation, were England ever likely to learn anything new about someone who is already expected to earn a place on the flight to Australia.
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You know what you are going to get with the 31-year-old. Pace, bounce, the ability to keep the batsman on the back foot. He took figures of 5-87 and 4-26 in Australia last time around, so there's no doubt in my mind that he will be a part of the touring party.
It could be argued that Steven Finn should have been given a run-out, but after losing his place in the Test side already this series, what would it do to his confidence by getting blasted for boundary after boundary on a flat pitch?
England made the correct decision in going for Woakes and Kerrigan. It's just slightly unfortunate that they couldn't be making their first Test appearance on a pitch offering a bit more assistance. But they still have one-and-a-half innings to show the selectors, and the Barmy Army, what they can do.
When you consider the short-term future, it is going to be believed that Woakes and Kerrigan should have been nowhere near the starting lineup for this concluding encounter.
But when you can consider the wider picture, if Cook and the selectors find just one or two little things that they could use through Woakes and Kerrigan in Australia, then maybe taking the risk of losing this Test match to blood two players could pay off.
Darren Plant
