England names three spinners

By Ted Corbett

LONDON, DEC.19. England's selectors named three spinners in a 15- man Test squad and a 15-man one-day squad for the tour of Sri Lanka which begins in February. The Northants off-spinner, Jason Brown, who took 61 wickets for his county last season and the Glamorgan off-spinner, Robert Croft, are both included in the Test squad to back up Ashley Giles who took 17 wickets in three Tests in Pakistan recently.

Brown is untried at any level above the second division of the championship but he is, according to the experts, worth a trial and Croft lost his cool and became very critical of the selectors when he was dropped from the Test side last summer. I imagine he will have had to eat humble pie but he is a perky - some say too perky - character and in an age when few spinners blossom in this country he has Test experience and some skill as a lower middle order batsman.

Croft, who played two Tests against West Indies last summer, has also been included in the One-Day squad. Dominic Cork and Ian Salisbury are both omitted from the squad that won the Test series in Pakistan 1-0. Cork, who flew home from Lahore in November with a back injury, has been advised to rest for three months.

Brown will fly out to the Caribbean on December 28 for England 'A's tour of the West Indies before joining the Sri Lanka tour. Alan Mullally, who missed the series in Pakistan and the ICC Trophy in Kenya with a rib injury, will undergo a fitness test before going to Sri Lanka with the One-Day squad. If he is not passed fit, he will be replaced by Matthew Hoggard.

David Graveney, chairman of selectors said: ``We believe that we need three `out and out' slow bowlers as the wickets will suit finger spin and the conditions will be very hot and humid.'' He explained the omission of Salisbury by saying he had ``played his part in the victory in Pakistan but had a difficult time with the ball.'' Salisbury may consider himself unlucky for his middle order batting was important in each Test and his absence will throw a bigger weight on the rest of the lower middle order in which Craig White played a big part in Pakistan.

Croft said: ``I've just been coming to the end of my benefit and was intending to spend the winter on fitness work and the nets. So this is fantastic news and it's an opportunity that I intend to grab with both hands. I've never been to Sri Lanka before but everybody I've spoken to tells me that the heat is ferocious and that the batsmen will be aggressive. I'm sure there will be plenty of wickets around.''

The inclusion of Graeme Hick means that he is once again part of an England tour party when his figures hardly justify his selection. His stand with Graham Thorpe effectively won the third Test for England but far too kind a view has been taken of that effort and as he made only one century in the year 2000 and never dominated an attack as you might expect of a batsman with 110 centuries his place must remain precarious. But the coach Duncan Fletcher believes in Hick's ability and once more he has allowed his man to gatecrash the party.

The squads:

Tests: Nasser Hussain (captain) (Essex), Michael Atherton (Lancashire), Jason Brown (Northamptonshire), Andrew Caddick (Somerset), Robert Croft (Glamorgan), Ashley Giles (Warwickshire) Darren Gough (Yorkshire), Graeme Hick (Worcestershire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Paul Nixon (Kent), Alec Stewart (Surrey)

Marcus Trescothick (Somerset), Graham Thorpe (Surrey), Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire), Craig White (Yorkshire)

One day Internationals: Nasser Hussain (captain), (Essex), Mark Alleyne (Gloucestershire), Andrew Caddick (Somerset), Robert Croft (Glamorgan), Mark Ealham (Kent), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Ashley Giles (Warwickshire), Darren Gough (Yorkshire), Graeme Hick (Worcestershire), Nick Knight (Warwickshire), Alan Mullally (Hampshire), Alec Stewart (Surrey), Marcus Trescothick (Somerset), Graham Thorpe (Surrey), Craig White(Yorkshire)

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