On the eleventh day of Christmas, the true love brought along eleven pipers. But on the eleventh day of the Ashes series, the only thing they were piping was a lament to England. The Ashes are lost, for the seventh time in succession, and the country sinks slowly into a pit of despair, recrimination and self-pitying navel inspection. The one man who isn't panicking is David Graveney, chairman of selectors. Speaking to Radio 5 live this morning, Graveney said: "We need to stop Australia. There is no question of saying let's bring in younger guys".

But, if not now, when? The current team, albeit bereft of their first-choice middle-order, have been annihilated by margins of an innings and 118 runs, eight wickets and now seven wickets. Surely, with the series gone, there is a case for going through the personnel with a fine-tooth comb.

No, you don't want to throw everyone out for composting. But Graveney has to face facts. Some of his selections just haven't worked.

The five-bowler trick was a failure at Trent Bridge. Michael Atherton fiddled with his trio of Andy Caddick, Darren Gough and Alex Tudor while Craig White (two overs) and Robert Croft (three) stared at their bootlaces.

If England are going to continue to ignore Phil Tufnell, for whatever non-cricketing reason they have hidden up their sleeve, then Croft should be replaced by a fourth seamer. Either Matthew Hoggard, Chris Silverwood or Richard Johnson - which one depends on the not-so-magic table of physio Dean Conway.

Craig White is so obviously out of touch that he will regard a temporary P45 as a blessing. He must be stroked by the selectors and sent back to county cricket to discover his form in time for the winter tour of India. That's if he can squeeze into the Yorkshire team. In his place, the selectors should plump for a young wicketkeeper. Jamie Foster, who had an excellent A-tour and who made 74 against Australia earlier this season, seems to have the best CV. He does weaken the batting on paper, but when England's No. 7s have averaged the grand total of seven this series, the only way certainly isn't down.

Alec Stewart retains his place by default, but by removing the gloves Graveney can promote him to No. 3 where he might at least escape Shane Warne for a few overs. Unfortunately his Surrey colleague Ian Ward can't survive the cull. He has tried his heart out in scary circumstances, but the way he closes the face of his bat when he goes to drive has the Australians in a permanent state of mastication.

The selectors must take a deep breath, eat their words, and give Owais Shah the rest of the series to bed himself in.

The rest of England's batting is dependent on the injury clinic. But if any of Nasser Hussain, Graham Thorpe or Michael Vaughan can pick up a bat, then it is, sadly, goodbye Mark Ramprakash - who signed his death warrant with that full-blooded charge towards the executioner's block on Friday evening.

A similar fate awaits Graveney unless he uses some imagination. This is a Test which Jeff Thomson predicted would be over in a day. Impossible (surely).But only new blood will prevent more humiliation for England.

Possible squad for Headingley:1 Michael Atherton, 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Alec Stewart, 4 Mark Butcher, 5 Nasser Hussain (capt), 6 Owais Shah, 7 Jamie Foster (wkt), 8 Alex Tudor, 9 Andy Caddick, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Matthew Hoggard

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