Cricket: FORTY-FIED; ENGLAND v STH AFRICA, THE OVAL, TOMORROW Stewie: Oldies can still be goldies so stick with Nasser and Thorpe.

Byline: Mike WALTERS Cricket Correspondent

GOLDEN fossil Alec Stewart will bow out at The Oval telling England to take their old farts on tour - and he was not talking about the blokes who pick the team.

Hankies at the ready, Stewart faces the final curtain on his farewell tour tomorrow urging the selectors to stick with old sweats Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain this winter.

Stewart, the 40-year-old who wins his 133rd and last cap in the final npower Test against South Africa, struck a powerful blow against the ageist lobby by supporting the claims of Hussain, 35, and Thorpe, 34.

If England heed the Gaffer's advice, they will take Dad's Army to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka next month - entirely fitting for a team who played like a certain Home Guard platoon from Walmington-on-Sea in the witless defeat at Headingley.

But Stewart, who has always risen to the occasion on major landmark appearances, believes ageing cricketers are like ancient jokes: you just can't beat 'em.

He said: "You've always got to keep one eye on the future, but to me Test cricket is all about winning, especially when a series is still alive.

"If you always look to the future, there's a danger that you will never pick your best side, and that's why bringing Thorpe back now makes sense, not least because he's been England's best player at various stages in the past. He's been away from the international arena for a year, and we'll have to see how he looks when he comes back, but without a doubt I would pick both Thorpe and Hussain to go on tour this winter.

"Thorpe is probably our best player of spin and Hussain has shown this summer that he's still a quality batsman with the desire to make big scores."

Stewart's retirement has already prompted so many gushing tributes that they ought to shut the Thames Flood Barrier.

And as Mirror Sport revealed yesterday, Surrey are planning an unprecedented guard of honour by former England captains on the pitch tomorrow lunchtime as a tribute to Stewart's record appearances, 8,425 runs and 273 catches/stumpings.

But the signs are that he outstayed his welcome. With only one century in his last 54 Test innings, and just 144 runs from seven knocks in this series, Stewart is in danger of going out with a whimper.

In that defiant, almost military, football-speak he has turned into an art form, he said: "I would definitely like to have scored more runs this summer, but as far as I'm concerned I haven't lost any of the edge or the desire.

"If I had, I would have packed it in before now, but that's where personal pride comes into it. I've done everything possible to be successful in this series.

"I'm sure I will be emotional at the end of the game, but I can't honestly know how I'm going to react until I walk off for the last time.

"I've no idea whether I'll have to pack my bags and clear off as soon as possible or linger in the dressing room."

While Stewart decides whether to take up offers in coaching, the media or to have one last hurrah with Surrey in 2004, Oval team-mate Thorpe is preparing to reboot a career in which he has no intention of playing beyond 40.

Since 1999, Thorpe has missed 28 of the 49 Tests, and after a 13-month adjournment he does not expect an easy ride against the Springboks, even on his home ground.

He said: "Playing at The Oval means I've got a shorter drive, and I'll be sitting in the same spot in the dressing-room where I've sat for years, with the old man (Stewart) on one side and Mark Butcher on the other.

"There is a new captain yet the same buzz, but I've been out of international cricket for more than a year and I'm under no illusions that it's going to be a doddle.

"Basically, I'm a completely different bloke to the one who last played for England, that's the bottom line. I've been through some difficult experiences and I'm a totally different person.

"But it's nice to be back in time to say farewell to Alec as an England player though, because all the guys who have played with him take their hats off to him.

"Everyone has huge respect for his longevity, his professionalism and his desire to play at the highest level."

Andy Caddick is out of England's tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka because he needs a back operation.

FORMER BBC cricket and rugby commentator Peter West died yesterday, aged 83. He also presented Come Dancing.

CAPTION(S):

IT'S BEEN A GAS: Alec Stewart at The Oval yesterday; STUMPER: Bob Taylor