The England selectors have backed themselves and their players into the same corner, which is why the 12-man squad for the Edgbaston Test match announced tomorrow morning, will be unchanged.

So will the final XI - injury excepted - when the coin goes up next Thursday morning. Chris Tremlett will be in the squad and, despite all the fanciful talk of Paul Collingwood, the Durham man will not be called up.

The selectors will tell the players: "You are the best team we have and that is why we named you for Lord's. Okay, we lost and, as a unit, it was a poor performance, but now get on with it on a ground that has been kind to England."

Every now and then, a bandwagon starts and this time it has Collingwood placed on board by pundits who ought to know better.

Yes, he has just scored two near double hundreds for Durham in the last two weeks and added a third century yesterday, but so what? One theory suggests he replaces a bowler - probably Matthew Hoggard - and allows Andrew Flintoff to drop down the order.

Another says that he replaces a batsman - Ian Bell is top of the hit list - but that flies in the face of all that Team England has been about in the last successful 18 months. He will do neither.

The so-called vulnerable central contract holders are Ashley Giles, Bell and Hoggard. All three have allowed themselves to be sucked or suckered into playing a media game of quotes - a game they cannot possibly win.

Hoggard claims his put-down on grounds of age of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were taken out of context, but an official view claims that he made the same comments to BBC's Pat Murphy on Radio Five Live.

Bell told The Mirror all about his two failures at Lord's and how he would be spurred on to improve on his home ground.

Fine, but why say a word? The only thing that matters in the world of Test cricket is runs and wickets - particularly in an Ashes series. As for Giles, his attack on former Test cricketers made no sense at all.

Especially when he implied that maybe they had "private agendas." Such as what Ash? They are the same Sky Sports people who travelled the world with you to the West Indies and South Africa and heaped praise on you for winning.

What do you expect them to say when the side so badly underperformed at Lord's last week? They must call it as they see it, and their comments came as much from sheer disappointment as anything else.

Praise and criticism come with the well-paid territory, so ignore the two impostors and get on with it. Nobody is getting on any particular back, but the fact is that a clutch of dropped catches did not help three or four players who did not play well.

As they say in card games, put up or shut up, and don't retreat into a dressing-room mood of siege mentality which is as old as the hills.

Concentrate on the few positives available from a 239-run thrashing and start again on an Edgbaston ground which has been kind to England over the years.

Despite the dropped catches, England took 20 Australian wickets in 140 overs, and the top Australian batting order was nearly as unimpressive as that of England. It could and should have been in 120 overs with a target of, say 300 in stead of 420.

Win the toss next week and top 300, and it might be a different game. The Aussies are no different from any other side when under pressure, and that is why the selectors are right to pick the same side and hope that they get the basics right this time.

Remember that England were beaten by a three-man attack. The wicketless Jason Gillespie plays today against Worcestershire, but his lack of aggression borders on the terminal. His role as third seamer should have been exploited better at Lord's, but failures in all departments helped Ricky Ponting to get away with it.

The selectors are right to pick the same squad. By so doing they will put the buck where it belongs - in the middle of the England dressing room. More is the pity it has not been a silent dressing room. The squad should shut up and prove their point in the only possible way - on the field next Thursday.

* Jack Bannister's England Squad: M Vaughan (capt), M Trescothick, A Strauss, I Bell, K Pietersen, A Flintoff, G Jones, A Giles, M Hoggard, S Jones, S Harmison, C Tremlett.