The Ashes

[Ted Maul]

Is the lack of competition not also down to the central contract system though. Once you've shelled out for a multi-year central contract there's a lot of incentive to stick with your investment rather than drop them and call someone else up. We'd all rather it worked like football whereby players played red ball county cricket and then the coach and selectors just picked who was in form at the time but unfortunately cricket - red ball cricket - doesn't work like that.

Would be be a very reasonable take if we'd seen anything in the three years of watching Bashir bowling to suggest he should be given a big central contract.

I've just had a weekend away with some lads that watch every England game. Just back and about to fly out there again for the last 2. They repeatedly have told me of a conversation they had at a County game. It was with the father of an opener (of course, it may be the moaning of the spurned, but the name was provided) who said if you don't play golf with B and B, you don't get picked. They also mentioned Foulkes had once declined a round to put in an extra couple of days training and has dropped out of the reckoning. Whether it's all true or not,  there is seemingly no competition for places.

That's so mad that I cannot begin to believe it's true.

Perfectly fair response. I trust the guys I know and cannot vouch for the player's father's comments.  If there is truth in it then I hope this sort of thing has been noticed by those that make the big decisions.

Don't want to doubt your mates who undoubtedly know more and are closer to the truth than I am, I just can't believe that's the level of chat around an international sports team.