Australia captain Ricky Ponting has branded England's selectors 'desperate' ahead of the start of the fifth Ashes Test match.
England have drafted uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott into their side for the Ashes decider after they were humiliated in the fourth Test at Headingley.
Mark Ramprakash, Robert Key and Marcus Trescothick had all been linked with call-ups, but the selectors went for Trott to replace out-of-form number three Ravi Bopara.
'It probably shows a bit of desperation I guess, on their behalf, to be doing that,' said Ponting.
Trott will make his debut in the most important Test in England for a number of years, and Ponting says his bowlers have already worked out plans for the Warwickshire man.
'When we arrived, which is only a couple of months ago, everyone was talking about how good Bopara was and how much of an impact he was going to have on the series,' the Australia captain claimed.
'That hasn't happened but we understand that Trott is a good player and we've had an opportunity the last couple of days to have a good look at him and the way he plays.
'We've spoken to a couple of the guys around the county scene that have played a bit against him as well, so there will be no excuses as far as our preparation goes.'
However, Trott does have the backing of his captain Andrew Strauss.
'Jonathan is a guy who has got a lot of confidence and he is in great form at the moment,' he said.
'It should be a good wicket here and I have every confidence he will go out and do a good job for us.'
England have drafted uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott into their side for the Ashes decider after they were humiliated in the fourth Test at Headingley.
Mark Ramprakash, Robert Key and Marcus Trescothick had all been linked with call-ups, but the selectors went for Trott to replace out-of-form number three Ravi Bopara.
'It probably shows a bit of desperation I guess, on their behalf, to be doing that,' said Ponting.
Trott will make his debut in the most important Test in England for a number of years, and Ponting says his bowlers have already worked out plans for the Warwickshire man.
'When we arrived, which is only a couple of months ago, everyone was talking about how good Bopara was and how much of an impact he was going to have on the series,' the Australia captain claimed.
'That hasn't happened but we understand that Trott is a good player and we've had an opportunity the last couple of days to have a good look at him and the way he plays.
'We've spoken to a couple of the guys around the county scene that have played a bit against him as well, so there will be no excuses as far as our preparation goes.'
However, Trott does have the backing of his captain Andrew Strauss.
'Jonathan is a guy who has got a lot of confidence and he is in great form at the moment,' he said.
'It should be a good wicket here and I have every confidence he will go out and do a good job for us.'
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