Whenever Jason Gillespie fields near the boundary, English fans — referring to his gypsy looks — taunt him with cries of ‘‘Where’s your caravan?’’ Over the past few days, as Australia overwhelmed Worcestershire in a tour match, Gillespie has carried out extensive repairs to his caravan so that it now runs as smoothly as ever.And his return to form is an ominous sign to an English side hoping to square the Ashes series in the second Test at Edgbaston on Thursday.With the bat Gillespie scored 53 runs, including 6 fours and 2 sixes. He then took two wickets in 12 overs to convince his captain to field an unchanged side at Birmingham, even though Michael Kasprowiscz took five wickets.‘‘I think he bowled probably better today than he’s bowled all tour, so that’s a very good sign for us’’, Ricky Ponting said of Gillespie yesterday. ‘‘If you look at that, you’d probably think it would be unlikely that we’ll change the team.’’A revitalised Gillespie would revel on the Edgbaston wicket and in the Birmingham weather — conditions suitable so for fast bowling that England gave an uncharacteristically late call-up to Paul Collingwood.England selectors had shown the required faith in a young side that gave some indication of being in awe of the Ashes atmosphere.They retained Geraint Jones, whose gloves were apparently coated with butter every time Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, and Andrew Flintoff were bowling.And Ian Bell gets another chance to figure out that Shane Warne does not change his action much when he bowls a slider.The one change, once the pitch was checked out, is Collingwood, who has scored three centuries in his last four county innings. He is most likely to replace Giles, who is probably wondering when he will get a spinning track on home soil.Besides giving England an extra batsman, Collingwood will put Andrew Flintoff in his favoured No. 7 slot, where he will be free of the burden of responsibility that a No. 6 bears.For all these permutations and combinations, Michael Vaughan, who scored a century for Yorkshire in the Totesport League match yesterday, knows that he and the other batsmen have to get their act together. Australia’s batsmen are all in form — Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Ponting all hit half-centuries at Worcester. If England’s don’t come good their bowlers don’t stand a chance.
