Jon Lewis: England are now close to reaching a real watershed

For all kinds of reasons, it would mean everything to English cricket were we to beat Australia at The Oval and regain the Ashes.

Certainly, an England victory would represent a fitting end to Andrew Flintoff's career as a Test player.

It would also help define Andrew Strauss's record as captain and stamp Andy Flower's authority as coach.

But whatever the outcome of the fifth and final Test match, next Monday will be seen as a watershed in the fortunes of the national team.

England are fast approaching one of those pivotal moments when one era comes to a close and a new one dawns.

World class all-rounders are such a rarity in the game, teams tend to be remembered for those individuals alone. It was definitely the case with Richard Hadlee and New Zealand, Imran Khan and Pakistan and Ian Botham and England. And so it will be with Flintoff.

While it would be fantastic for 'Fred' to go out on a high and be remembered as the man who helped us win the Ashes twice, the fact remains England must very soon start looking to the future.

A massive test looms this winter when we play South Africa and it is reasonable to assume we will tour with a relatively inexperienced squad. Although Strauss may carry on for another two or three years, the likes of Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison are coming towards the end and will need to be replaced.

Given these circumstances, it concerns me that the England selectors so often appear obsessed with throwing in young guys for the sake of it.

Stuart Broad is a case in point. I understand the selectors wanting to throw him in early to expose him to the harsh realities of a Test match environment, but was he ready? His statistics would suggest not.

By all means blood young up and coming players against the weaker nations, but not against the likes of Australia. Such opponents warrant us picking our strongest side and I don't think that has always happened this summer.

I feel sure Broad will develop into a very good bowler, but I'm not so sure he should be put under so much pressure at a time when he is still finding his technique. Most bowlers only really get a grip on that in their mid-to-late twenties and that is the time to cap them on a regular basis, not before.

The Australians don't do it for a very good reason – they know their young players are not ready. So why do we do it?

There are others who are now charged with the task of shedding their young player status and establishing themselves on the Test stage and, once Flintoff has departed the stage, the onus will be on those guys to push on.

James Anderson has come of age against Australia in this series and we now need Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell to step up to the plate and prove their mettle as Test cricketers.

Places will definitely be up for grabs after this series and it would not surprise me were my Gloucestershire team-mate Steve Kirby to win a place on a tour in the winter.

Injuries have prevented Steve from making the breakthrough before now, but he has remained fit and performed consistently all season and must surely be in with a chance. If he can take another 15 to 20 wickets between now and the end of the county campaign and finish with around 60 first class victims, he will surely get noticed.

He bowled well enough against the Australians at Canterbury last week and will be ready if called upon.

Before signing off, I would like to address an intriguing issue which I know is being discussed currently by the International Cricket Council (ICC), namely the introduction of a World Test match series to establish the best team on the planet.

We already have World Cups in Twenty20 and 50-over one-day international cricket, so why not in Tests?

Scheduling is one problem that immediately springs to mind. Because of the time it takes to play a Test series, any competition would have to span a couple of years and a lot of thought would have to go into the programming to ensure countries all played one another on a home and away basis.

Given that we are the only country which plays during the English summer, we would almost certainly be required to tour more often and that might be seen as a drawback. Also, we have to consider whether there is an appetite for such a competition and it will be interesting to gauge public opinion. Perhaps the two one-day World Cups are enough and people do not want another such competition.

As with the fortunes of the England team, only time will tell.