The decision to release Jamie Dalrymple from the 14-man England squad for the second Test match against Pakistan, which - including, on the face of it, captain Andrew Strauss.

His midday press conference revealed that: "We are not making any decision about our attack today. We shall look tonight and discuss it then."

All of which reveals that it is not just a case of the left and right hand lacking unanimity but smacks rather of Duncan Fletcher's iron hand nestling inside an iron glove.

Chairman David Graveney and his co-selectors may or may not have been party to the decision, which makes Fletcher alter his stance on not picking a team without a reliable runscorer at No 8.

As Raymond Illingworth always insisted: "A Test captain is only as good as his bowlers," which is why Strauss's team list could have shown a management gamble with five bowlers. Instead, they have gone for a safety-first four-man attack, which reeks of "settle for a draw and hope for the best" tactics.

Liam Plunkett's side injury has put him on the sidelines for, probably, the rest of the series. Dalrymple could have made his Test debut, but not now. Forget Strauss's influence on selection as captain - if it comes to a split vote, he will be given what Fletcher wants and that is no Dalrymple.

Warwickshire's Ian Bell and the top five batsmen are fireproof, followed by wicket-keeper Geraint Jones which means a permutation of any four bowlers from five.

What an unprepossessing quintet they are. An out-ofsynch Steve Harmison, plus a still-undercooked Matthew Hoggard, backed by the only third pace bowler available, Sajid Mahmood, plus Jon Lewis whose medium pace loses him precious plus-marks with Fletcher.

The worries start with Mahmood. The local boy is farther away from Test class than Plunkett. You just might get away with either as a fifth bowler but never as one of four.

Monty Panesar deserves to keep playing after Lord's where he spun the ball appreciably. He should be persevered with but there is still a possibility that England will play an all-pace attack because of the hard, dry and cracked pitch. That would be crazy, because the restored Younis Khan heads the best trio of middle-order batsmen in world cricket, with Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ulHaq. At least Panesar offers some hope of control.

Now that Dalrymple has been jettisoned, Strauss will be sent out to toss this morning with one arm tied behind his back. The only way England can win the match is to win the toss, bat first and post a big score and then hope for the sort of Pakistani implosion that is becoming more infrequent since the coming of Bob Woolmer as coach.

The visitors are just as short of first-choice bowlers as England but they still pick a five-man attack and trust their top five batsmen to deliver. England don't do that because Fletcher won't trust five of a sextet of specialist batsmen while wicketkeeper Jones is not doing the batting job for which he is constantly picked.

The safety-first approach - understandable but totally misguided - is why England will approach the match in an entirely negative way. If they win the toss, even with the expected four-man attack, they may sneak out of the match with a draw.

If Pakistan bat first a draw is less likely but what a shame that an Old Trafford Test offers so little ambition, 50 years almost to the day since Jim Laker's 19 wickets against Australia set a record that will never be beaten.

The big question last night was that everyone knows Dalrymple was pushed - but just who was the pusher?