He was thought of as a bowler but actually made his debut as a batsman, and did rather well in that role: I accept that he has cemented his place by also being so useful with the ball... but if you look closely at his performances to date.... he's already doing more with the bat than Flintoff did in 2001 - the season in which he finally nailed the no 6 spot in the Test side.

As it happens this may all be pretty academic: we've a strong contingent in favour of Ambrose as wicketkeeper... and as he's a no 5/6 batsman... Rashid (and if not Rashid then maybe Bresnan) would be able to play at 7.

ps. Your concern might be echoed more widely if Foster (my preference) were clear favourite for the gloves... but some of us would still be satisfied with the batting given the prospect of the strongest tail in the history of WAT 'A' teams.