OK folks... the ECB site doen't have a fixture list up yet... but once the World Cup nonsense is over England will be hosting the West Indies and India (in that order) and will presumably be playing an 'A' / Academy side against each touring side.

Let's just assume for a moment that everyone is fit... and that the selectors will be contemplating picking from the following for their Test side: Tresco, Strauss, Vaughan, Pietersen, Bell, Flintoff, Read, Giles, Hoggard, Jones, Harmison, Panesar

That would leave the likes of Cook, Joyce, Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Anderson available as the core of an 'A' side... but who would take the other spots?


1. Cook
2. ?
3. Yardy/ Shah / Bopara
4. Joyce
5. Collingwood
6. Dalrymple / ?
7. Foster / Jones / Davies
8. Rashid / Batty/ Plunkett / Broad / Tom Smith
9. Mahmood / Onions
10. Lewis
11. Anderson

Unconstrained by W-A-T restrictions... who'd be in?

I will give this some thought Rachael, however I must say here and now that your probable Test squad could be well off track.

I think a big question mark hangs over Vaughan - Simon Jones, and maybe Hoggard and Giles.

So we could find in the Test squad players like Mahmood - I think Anderson is a certainty, and I think Panesar will be the England spinner.

Also I think Joyce could well be playing in Vaughan's place if he does not recover from injury, and if not could well take a battered Bells place, because I can't see Bell doing well in Australia.

I am not sure that Vaughan or Simon Jones will ever be fit enough to play for England again.

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Ern

Rob Keys will probably continue to captain the A side next summer. Will be interesting to see if Loudon gets a run. Clarke is often selected in the A games. Perhaps Compton will get a tryout.

To be honest i don't see the worth of playing the likes of Collingwood and Anderson as they are proven international performers and you could use the game to look at other options to see if they are mentally able to make a step up.

I would like to think that the likes of Rashid,Davies and Onions would be looked at but i doubt it would happen.

That would depend on the strength of the opposition: if the touring side were intending to play a full strength XI then the 'A' side had better include at least a few seasoned internationals. More importantly... the available batting options look less than inspiring.

A couple of years ago (say May 2004) the top order of the 'A' side could have started:

1. Cook
2. Strauss
3. Bell
4. Pietersen
5. Collingwood
6. Louden / Joyce
7. Read

That would have been pretty awesome... a batting line up ready to step into the shoes of the then 1st choice top order of:

1. Tresco
2. Vaughan
3. Butcher
4. Hussain
5. Thorpe
6. Flintoff
7. GO Jones

I suppose it's hardly surprising that with so many young players having stepped up a level in such a short time, the cupboard looks a little bare... and it's perhaps more reasonable to look ahead to the 'A' side of 2-3 years time as for the next crew who look a match for the established Test side:

1. Compton
2. Chopra
3. Bopara
4. ?
5. Yardy
6. Rashid
7. Davies

I'm sure some of that crew will disappear without trace as far as internationals are concerned... but by summer 2008 they really ought to be looking a sensible "2nd XI"... usurping the likes of Key, Smith, Shah, Sales, Clarke Louden and Prior (an Xi that really does fail to convince).