England Cricket Failures Leave Selection Door Wide Open for Rob Key and Co.

But for an inspired bowling performance from Andrew Flintoff, England would surely be staring at another defeat from the young and vastly talented South African team.

Flintoff turned the clock back to produce a brilliant spell of hostile bowling, reminiscent of the over he bowled to Australia captain Ricky Ponting during the Ashes victory of 2005.

This time round however, it was Jacques Kallis who was hopping about to a fired up Flintoff, who rapidly reminded cricket watchers round the world just as to why he is considered to be one of the best in the game.

When he bowled short the ball bounced and rose sharply making it almost imposibble to play and when he pitched it up it swung and seamed. England, in truth, were their own worst enemies, far too often bowling too wide or too short in conditions that were perfect for the swing bowlers.

However, whilst Flintoff has now firmly cemented his place in the English ranks, massive question marks now hang over the heads of Vaughan and Collingwood.

For many years the excellent on-field tactics of Vaughan have warranted his selection, but this alarming slump in form has put his position as captain in grave danger.

The man who lurks in the shadows could be an even more controversial selection than Aussie seamer Darren Pattinson - Kent captain Rob Key - a man that has been at the head of the steadily improving Kent team.

Key, averaging just under 40 in the County Championship this year, scored a magnificent double hundred against the West Indies in 2004 but the combination of being overlooked for the Ashes and a shoulder operation has left him in the shadows to ply his trade at County level.

With the England top-order badly struggling it can only be a matter of time before Key gets his chance to add to his number of England caps.

To the outside world it is fairly obvious that Paul Collingwood is a man short of form and confidence. However, no one can quite be sure what is going on inside the heads of the England selectors. Should Collingwood finally be given time to re-establish himself with Durham surely the man to come back in will be Ravi Bopara of Essex.

After a successful World Cup in the Caribbean but torrid time on the tour of Sri Lanka, Bopara has experienced mixed fortunes in his short England career. However, having settled back into the County circuit and averaging almost 70, he fits the bill as the perfect replacement.

Whether this is the case remains to be seen. As seen before, selection for England can surprise everyone.