Tim Bresnan's absence from the first Test squad to take on Pakistan seems a clanger.

True, he didn't do entirely well against Bangladesh but England of all countries are not one to axe a man after one poor series. Goodness knows they've stuck with the likes of Liam Plunkett, Ian Bell (I couldn't resist) and the average few through thin and thin, so what to make of Bresnan's omission?

With the Hoggards and Harmisons of the past put to county pasture, the English - as consummate as they may seem in the wake of recent limited-overs successes - need Bresnan in their fold in the build-up to the Ashes.

He brings a gutsy, determined edge that Ajmal Shahzad and Steven Finn could only dream of conjuring up and the sooner the selectors put the steely Yorkshireman's inadequacies against the Tigers behind them the better for England, and Bresnan.

It was just the other day 'The Greatest Living Englishman' was backing 'Bressie' for a berth against the Aussies, yet Andrew Flintoff's subtle advice has fallen on deaf ears more keen on running Stuart Broad further into the ground.

Broad is a certain starter come November's opener at Brisbane, of that there is no doubt. He could fetch figures of nought for 100 eight times over against Pakistan and still be the first named penned when Geoff Miller and posse sit down to contemplate their Ashes defence. Why not allow him more rest in favour of additional game time for Bresnan, who for lack of any better seaming options, will head Down Under regardless?

Miller's Sunday statement that, "Yes, we want to win this match and win this series but we have an eye on the winter as well and we have got to make sure that the equation is sorted" flies in the face logic, which should've seen Bresnan lining up alongside James Anderson, equally in need of international match practice.

As for Finn's selection, England are right on the money. Kept behind close doors during the one-dayers against Ricky Ponting's men, now is the time to really unleash the tall, aggressive Middlesex man on the big stage. As with Bresnan, he'll go to Australia regardless of poor or promising performance against Pakistan. The fast-bowling stocks are barer than the brains trust, who have now surely given up on Ryan Sidebottom, would like to admit.

Andrew Strauss would do well to throw young Finn the new ball, though. The safety-first temptation - as displayed in Bangladesh - will be there to afford Anderson and Broad the opening blows, but the pressure and expectation of kicking off an epic at Lord's or The Oval will afford captain Strauss and coach Andy Flower a true reflection of the 21-year-old's mettle.

Finally, England's insistence in having Eoin Morgan in their Test set-up is perplexing. They have, thankfully, staved off the temptation to elevate Craig Kieswetter but Morgan's replacement of Ian Bell should have gone the way of Ravi Bopara, who at the very least deserves one last chance on the back of runs aplenty for the England Lions and Essex of late.

Morgan, having shown BMT and maturity beyond his 23 years, will be the first to enthuse that he is ready for five-dayers, as would any 23-year-old. A couple of decent knocks against Bangladesh suggested as much too. But, amidst the frenetic nature of today's international calendar, there is no need to ask the man to perform game in and game out across all formats. England are not short on able Test batsmen, so why force the issue upon a batsman perfected to limited-overs dominance?

Miller wants "to see a bit more from Eoin." I hope this view to the future, namely the Ashes, includes a sitdown between Flower, Strauss and Morgan, which'll leave the left-hander to play his natural, unorthodox game rather than fit into some sort of conformist Test match mould.

So to Trent Bridge we go, after which a quick, abrupt rethink to England's Test squad will inevitably be in order...