A politicians XI might not fulfil the ECB obligation to send a full strength team.... but were the entire 1st choice squad to make itself unavailable... I reckon you could put together a wonderful XI of players in the latter stages of their careers who could be justified to the ICC, would be experienced enough old pros to deal with the **** on and off the field and whose very presence would make a clear statement of how the ECB view this fixture.

I'd start by approaching ever single player who is England qualified and of Zimbabwean / South African extraction and (if necessary) coax them out of retirement: names like Smith, Lamb, Hick and Pietersen spring to mind...

I'd then approach the following: Crawley, Maynard, Hick, Hussain (capt), Ramps, Hegg (wk), White, Croft, Bicknell, Caddick, Saggers.

The one thing I would NOT do is approach any player in the early days of their career: I feel very strongly that the likes of Anderson, Mahmood, Flintoff, Harmison, Jones x2, Vaughan, Tresco and Hoggard should be kept well away from this fiasco: if it all blows up in their faces it's a burden that could drag down their careers for years to come.