Mike Atherton says Ravi Bopara should be recalled for the fourth Test - but doesn't hold out much hope.
Flintoff's absence throws up troublesome questions
Barbados has been a reasonably happy hunting ground for England in recent years, which will be some comfort after the angst in Antigua.
The team will step out onto the Kensington Oval knowing they let an opportunity to level the series slip last week and since then their injury concerns have mounted.
You don't get that many opportunities to win Test matches so you have to take them when they come along.
Now Andrew Flintoff is ruled out, raising questions about who should bat at six and whether the tourists' attack is potent enough to bowl out the West Indies twice.
Battle
The good news is that Steve Harmison's back scan showed he is only suffering from wear and tear - but there has to be a question mark over his participation.
The scan results might say he is fully fit but he didn't look full of enthusiasm in Antigua, while Ryan Sidebottom continues to battle his chronic Achilles injury.
So a lot is resting on Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the two young, fit and firing seamers. But they will need some decent support.
Amjad Khan took five wickets in this week's warm-up game against a St Kitts Invitational XI but in truth he was up against school-boy batsmen so it was no great reference point in terms of the standard of cricket, but he certainly looks fit and ready to go.
I don't think the selectors will go with him over either Harmison or Sidebottom though, but I wouldn't be against throwing him in if there are serious doubts do arise over the other two.
Shuffling
Matt Prior has returned home to see his new-born child since the draw in Basseterre - which he's well within his rights to do - but it means shuffling the middle order around.
Had he still be on tour, England might have considered batting Prior at six and Broad at seven but clearly that's no longer an option. Tim Ambrose takes over the gloves but he is no more than a perfectly acceptable Test match No 7.
So that opens the door for either Ian Bell or Ravi Bopara to slot in; Bell batted at three in the second innings against St Kitts so it looks as though he is ahead of Bopara in the pecking order. But I would rather go with the Essex man.
Bell got dropped for a reason and nothing has happened since then to change that so I say give Bopara a chance - but I suspect he won't get it.
Prior's decision is surprising but it's also a modern-day one; having missed the birth I would have thought he'd return home between the Tests and the one-dayers.
This is a key Test match, after all; if England do not win here they can't win the series. Plus he's given his rival an opportunity to reclaim his place, which is a dangerous thing. 'Don't give a sucker an even break' may be an old saying but it still applies.
Should the series be drawn, it would reflect England's tendency over the last couple of years to underachieve despite the talent and personnel at their disposal.
This is not a bad West Indies team but it's by no means a top-notch one and if England have aspirations of being a good team they must start by repeating their success here of 2004.
Who do you think should get the nod at number three? Was Matt Prior right to fly home? And what about Flintoff's fitness problems? Share your thoughts by filling in the feedback form below...
