I'm coming around to Hildreth as my "best of the rest" candidate: Only Horton and Shah claim a place ahead of him. I'd actually like to see him in ahead of Sales: the WAT regular has done nothing wrong... but rather like Ali... he's never quite done enough right either.

I'd prefer to see Bopara AND Rashid and no Sales... but I can see where you are coming from.

ps. Is there a case for just saying the eligible seamers don't quite cut it at this level? For picking Broad and (with reservations) Tremlett (and no other specialist seamer) and saying "this side's fortunes depend on batting and spin"?

I would have no objections to Hildreth's inclusion over sales; after all Hildreth is more likely to earn an England call-up in future than Sales is.

Whilst I agree that the vast majority of the eligible seamers don't cut the mustard (so to speak), there's something about picking only two specialist seamers that screams "no" at me. When was the last time an international team won anything with just two real seamers?

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"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose."
- Ayrton Senna

Well... depending on whether you are prepared to flatter many of the recent international seamers (Tino Best, Mahmood, Sami and so on) with the title "real" seamers

I withdraw the half-baked suggestion... not least because (when I stop to think about it) the seam bowling is actually better off than the batting (which, Shah aside, doesn't inspire me at all) and the spin bowling (which is in even worse shape).

With Rashid we need to make the point that he is a bowler who bats not a batsman who bowls.Yorkshire obviously see him as a bowler who bats as they don't bat him in a specialist batting position within the top 6 so surely we can't pick him as a batsman who bowls in our team as that isn't what he is picked for in his county side.

Rachael is just like Duncan Fletcher,squarepegs into roundholes.

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.