Stewart could still get nod for Third Test

Alec Stewart may still cling on to his England place next week despite mounting pressure to pension off the Surrey veteran following South Africa's emphatic Second Test victory at Lord's.

The 40-year-old batsman-wicketkeeper had a grim match at Lord's - scoring just seven runs in two innings, slipping well below his best form behind the stumps and being forced to leave the field for treatment at one stage after being struck in the face by a ball from spinner Ashley Giles.

Last night, Stewart, who has announced he will retire from all international cricket after this five-match series, was top of many hit lists with the selectors being urged to make big changes before Thursday week's Third Test in Nottingham.

Stewart, England's most capped player of all time after 130 appearances, could yet lose out to Chris Read, who performed well during this summer's one-day internationals.

But coach and selector Duncan Fletcher said: "We need to sit down, hopefully with a cool head. You could make decisions straight after a game like this and regret them later."

And new captain Michael Vaughan, whose views are certain to carry a lot of weight, effectively dismissed the idea of promoting all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to No 6 on the strength of yesterday's spectacular but ultimately fruitless century.