Will it be Strauss's last waltz?

The vice-captain will be under pressure against the West Indies to halt an alarming slump in form which sees him under threat of being dropped for the first time since his debut in 2004.

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Strauss has failed five times against a modest West Indies attack and he will be sent back to Middlesex to solve his problems if he is unable to end that barren run at Chester-le-Street.

England coach Moores believes it will not come to that. "Strauss is a really good player," he said. "He's proved that in the past and he's hitting the ball well in practice. I'm confident his talent will come through and he'll get a score."

There is, however, a growing belief that Strauss has been found out by Test bowlers. He thrives on width and is comfortable cutting and pulling on the back foot, qualities that served him well in his first three years of Test cricket. He is now being drawn on to the front foot and looks an unbalanced player.

Yet, Moores believes Strauss will prevail. He said: "He got two very good balls at Old Trafford, particularly in the second innings when Fidel Edwards bowled a quick heavy spell and Andrew got out as openers can. He will come good."

After the fourth Test England switch to one-day mode where Strauss is a peripheral player due to his failure in power-plays as an opener. He is approaching a crucial stage in his career less than a year after leading England to a Test series victory over Pakistan.

Failure now would mean Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah and Mark Ramprakash being considered when India arrive for a three-Test series next month.

One player who must return to county cricket is Liam Plunkett.

He has the attributes to succeed at Test level but at 22 is too raw to learn his trade with England.

Plunkett was ignored on the last day of England's 60-run win over West Indies and has been dropped in favour of Matthew Hoggard, who must prove his fitness for Yorkshire today against Northants in the Friends Provident Trophy.

If Hoggard has not fully recovered from his groin injury then Jimmy Anderson will come in.

Moores insisted Plunkett will not be forgotten. He said: "He's an exciting cricketer because he can swing the ball at pace and he can bat but he needs to return to Durham, carry on working and we'll keep monitoring him."

There was nothing but positive words, however, for Monty Panesar and Steve Harmison.

"Monty is exciting," said Moores. "The fact we have only played three seamers has allowed him to bowl more and he has stepped up with that extra responsibility. He's learning and getting better all the time. His enthusiasm means he's great to work with."

But are his appeals getting a bit too much? "I'm not concerned about his appealing because I know he's genuine," said Moores.

"When a game is tight, good umpires understand players get sucked into the excitement."

Allan Donald's work as a bowling consultant has been credited for Harmison's second-innings comeback but Moores puts it down to the bowler.

"It's been a real challenge for Steve but he's starting to get some real belief," he said. "The way he bowled in the second innings was a real positive. He's worked with Allan and Kevin Shine but the players are the ones who have to perform under pressure. Steve did that."

Moores tried to draw a line under the Michael Vaughan-Andrew Flintoff spat which dominated the build-up to the last Test but, even though the captain took the sting out of the situation by apologising for lying, he will be reminded of his responsibilities by ECB chief executive David Collier this week.

THAT BAD RUN Strauss's record since a second innings 116 against Pakistan at Headingley last summer is:

v Pakistan (series average 55.5) The Oval — 38 and 54

v Australia ( series av 24.7) Brisbane — 12 and 11

Adelaide — 14 and 34

Perth — 42 and 0

Melbourne — 50 and 31

Sydney — 29 and 24

v West Indies (series av 15.6)

Lord's — 33 and 24

Headingley — 15

Old Trafford — 6 and 0

Average since last century, 24.53. Career average, 41.15.