England Cricket Betting: Murky arts of the selection process help Flower's regime bloom

England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 31 May 2010 /

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Steve Finn has been another recent success story for England

"The days of selectors arriving unannounced and taking a seat in a public area whilst wearing wigs, dark glasses and a false moustache are long gone. Selectors these days are happy to announce their presence and also give an indication of who they are watching, creating a pressure environment and monitoring how the targeted players respond to the challenge."

The Andy Flower era will be marked by its obsession with unearthing the hidden gems of the county game, says Frank Gregan, and that's good news for England

As the rain bounced off the covers on Saturday preventing play between England and Bangladesh, the media set about entertaining us with their observations and anecdotes. The Test Match Special team had the former England captain Michael Vaughan in their box and he was struck by a 15-minute bout of uncanny honesty which shed light onto the murky issue of who picks the England team.

The team selection for the current test against Bangladesh provided a surprise or two. Steve Finn was given his home debut and has performed admirably. Finn's inclusion alongside Eoin Morgan and Andrew Strauss meant that there were three Middlesex players in an English test side for the first time in 12 years. It's no coincidence that Middlesex's influence is increasing, England captain Strauss will be having a huge say when it comes to team selection according to Michael Vaughan.

During the Yorkshireman's time as skipper Vaughan claims that the team was picked by two men, himself and coach Duncan Fletcher. The remainder of the selectors voiced their opinions which were taken into account but the final say rested with the two men whose heads would be on the block should those selected flop.

Conversely, another former skipper who was sharing the commentary box with Vaughan, Alec Stewart told a very different tale. Stewart was much more guarded in his comments than Vaughan, apparently not wishing to betray confidences, but it was clear that he had been rebuffed on at least three occasions when he wanted to bring in flesh blood and change things around during his time in charge.

Given today's hectic international schedule there is very little opportunity for the coach and the skipper to get out and about to assess up and coming talent. According to Vaughan that is where the selectors come to the fore and under the current regime they are clocking up the miles following up recommendations.

The days of selectors arriving unannounced and taking a seat in a public area whilst wearing wigs, dark glasses and a false moustache are long gone. Selectors these days are happy to announce their presence and also give an indication of who they are watching, creating a pressure environment and monitoring how the targeted players respond to the challenge.

Another source of information that Andy Flower and Strauss are reportedly tapping into is the umpires. The logic is that the umpire sees the players at close range and are aware of their attitude and mental toughness. The umpire's level of concentration is greater than any other witness in the ground and their opinions are often sought and acted upon.

It's indicative of the esteem that the men in the white overcoats are held that those charged with selection seek out their opinions. It highlights the huge difference in attitude towards authority between cricket and other sports. A football manager would rather consult Mr Blobby over team selection than a referee!

Whoever was responsible for bringing in Finn should take a bow. At 6ft 8ins he is the same height as Joel Garner and that bloke whose picture is on the front of the sweetcorn tin! His pace isn't commensurate with his height, his maximum speed is in the high eighties which is slower than Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff but he is still highly effective.

His style is ideally suited to English conditions and he took full advantage during the first Test claiming nine wickets in the match. More of the same is likely to be in the offing when the second Test gets underway at Old Trafford on Friday.

If you followed the recommendation to back England to win the series 2-0 at [1.44] you might be tempted to turn the screen green now that the whitewash is [1.2] to lay. The advice is to resist that temptation, this Bangladesh side can bat but their bowling is so inept that, with an optimistic weather forecast, anything but an England win in the second Test is highly unlikely.

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