Easy come, easy go. At a time when governments are playing fast and loose with public money, Geoff Miller and his fellow selectors could be accused of doing the same with the ECB's. Just weeks after giving Michael Vaughan a central contract worth a substantial six-figure sum, and arguing strongly that he still has what it takes to rediscover his best form, the selectors have had a change of heart.Vaughan's exclusion from the 15-man touring party for the two Test matches against India in December to be announced today was revealed by Miller over the weekend, an action that gives rise to further claims that the former England captain continues to benefit from preferential treatment.
Whether Miller's pre-empting of today's announcement came as a result of a leak to a national newspaper, or whether it is an attempt to ease Vaughan's disappointment is unsure. Whatever the case, it was unnecessary. Vaughan is not the first England cricketer to be left out of a winter squad, and he will not be the last.
The manner of Vaughan's exclusion is strange - after all, cricketers do not often sit down with selectors to discuss the merits or otherwise of their selection as Vaughan appears to have done - but the decision is the right one. Despite professing a desire to win back his place by scoring a significant volume of runs for Yorkshire, Vaughan has failed to do so since stepping down from the England captaincy in August. The runs have come in a trickle not a flood and, having made one leap of faith by awarding him a central contract, the selectors were not about to make another.
The right decision, then, but it does call into question Miller's earlier judgment and, to some extent, that of Kevin Pietersen who pushed hard for a contract for his predecessor. The selectors will call upon recent experience to justify their actions: Andrew Strauss rediscovered his form last winter in New Zealand only after an enforced absence in Sri Lanka. But Strauss was fortunate that his replacement, Ravi Bopara, failed to capitalise on the opportunity and if Bopara is the man who benefits from Vaughan's absence now, he is unlikely to be so accommodating again. Bopara has learnt from his scarring Sri Lanka experience, and says he is a better player and tougher character for it.
Whether Vaughan's replacement will be Bopara or Owais Shah is one of four intriguing decisions the selectors have been pondering, the other three being the identity of the two wicketkeepers and a spinner to partner Monty Panesar. If consistency is deemed important, then Bopara could well get the nod, given that he was in the squad for the last Test at the Brit Oval. He has also had a better domestic season, scoring 1,256 first-class runs at 54.60, compared with Shah's 1,012 at 42.16, although both, it should be noted, played against second-division attacks.
Both are good players and my own preference would be for Shah on the basis that he has proved, in a way that Bopara has yet to, that he has the temperament for the highest level. It was Shah, remember, who was called up as a replacement on England's previous tour to India in 2006 and made a feisty 88 and 38 in the furnace of the Wankhede stadium in Bombay. Given that there is only one warm-up match between the one-day internationals and the Tests, Shah's presence in the one-day team is an advantage.
Both Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose are recipients of increment contracts and are likely to get the nod behind the stumps. Prior's performance in the one-day series against South Africa, and Ambrose's modest returns will, in all likelihood, mean a chance for Prior when the first Test starts in Ahmedabad. James Foster, though, can consider himself unfortunate if recognition eludes him. I reckon him to be the outstanding wicketkeeper in England, Chris Read included, and after a season that has seen him score almost a thousand first-class runs at an average of more than 40 he deserves his chance in place of Ambrose.
England's late-season rally against South Africa was inspired by the performance of the quick bowlers but a more balanced attack will be required in India, especially if the pitches are prepared to suit Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Who, then, will be Sancho Panza to Panesar's Don Quixote? There are worryingly few options: Gary Keedy has been a good performer for many years now for Lancashire, but has probably not done enough this season to earn him a place on the tour, while Samit Patel, good batsman that he is, is no front-line spinner.
The choice, then, rests between Graeme Swann and Adil Rashid, Yorkshire's promising young leg spinner. With 65 first-class wickets, Rashid is the joint second highest wicket-taker in the country this year and his selection, whilst risky, would at least give some fillip to an area of the game that is in dire need of attention. Swann (32 wickets) is part of the set-up, though, and will probably get the nod, leaving Rashid to gain more experience in the development squad, which is due to be in India at the same time.
Likely 15: Pietersen, Strauss, Cook, Bell, Collingwood, Flintoff, Prior, Broad, Harmison, Anderson, Panesar, Ambrose, Sidebottom, Swann, Bopara.
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