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Five England players, who were part of the miserable innings defeat in the fourth Ashes cricket Test against Australia at Headingley, have been asked to go back and play for their counties to rediscover their form before the series decider at the Oval.

England batsmen Ravi Bopara, his Essex colleague Alastair Cook, Ian Bell of Warwickshire and bowlers Nottighmashire's Graham Swan and Durham's Graham Onions have been released by the England team management Monday.

England and Wales Cricket Board managing director Hugh Morris said in a statement that following discussions with the England team management, it was decided to make a number of players available to their counties for four-day cricket this week.

'We are aware that we underperformed with bat and ball at Headingley and this decision is designed to give players an opportunity to spend time in the middle and get overs under their belt ahead of the decisive fifth Test at The Oval next week,' the statement said.

Bopara, in particular, has struggled in the series after making centuries in three successive innings against West Indies earlier in the year, and will figure along with Cook in Essex's squad for their county game against Middlesex at Lord's, starting Tuesday.

If the Headingley Test had gone the full distance instead of the seven sessions, the players would not have been able to play for their counties. Bopara and Bell together managed just 12 runs in the Leeds Test and they need to regain their confidence with the Oval Test Test 10 days away.

Chief selector Geoff Miller is under increasing pressure to drop Bopara from the Eleven, and media reports speculate that Surrey's Mark Ramprakash could be recalled seven years after he played his last international game.

Ramprakash, 39, has been in terrific form in county cricket in recent seasons, and Miller hinted that the Surrey batsman could be called up.

'What we have to do as selectors is measure the quality of what they are putting in for domestic cricket and whether they can do it at international level,' Miller told Radio Five Live. 'There's a lot more pressure, it's a different game altogether.

'Test cricket is completely different from county, and the problem we have is deciding whether they can take their domestic form into the international arena. That's always been the case and always will be.'

When asked whether Ramprakash - who averaged 27.32 in his 52 Tests - would be looked at again, Miller replied: 'I'm not ruling anybody out. We'll have a look at it. There's an option. He's not retired from international cricket.'

Miller was also forced to defend the decision to omit Andrew Flintoff for the fourth Test, insisting it was right to put the advice of England's medical team ahead of the all-rounder's wishes.

Flintoff's agent claimed the 31-year-old Lancasterian had told England's selectors that he was prepared to play through the pain barrier, but the offer was rejected.

Flintoff has recurring knee problem and failed to convince the medical team of his ability to make it through the Test.