Fletcher considers rotating fast bowlers

Wisden Cricinfo staff

June 9, 2003

England's easy win at Riverside has presented the selectors with an unfamiliar problem. Although the one-day merry-go-round means that the squad for the first Test against South Africa does not have to be considered for another month, the success of Richard Johnson, James Anderson and Steve Harmison leaves a fast-bowling conundrum. How to accommodate three more experienced faces - Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard - who are likely to be back from injury come mid July.

The situation is not unwelcome - England's quick-bowling selections in recent years have tended to become something of a last man standing affair come the end of the summer - and Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, admitted that it is something that has been at the forefront of his thoughts. The solution might be squad rotation.

"We could have a difficult selection problem when the other bowlers are back," Fletcher said. "When they return we will have some problems but we want to build on the pool of players we have, especially in the bowling department. It is important we have some players sitting in the wings who have some experience.

"There's a good chance of rotating the bowlers," he continued. "Somewhere along the line, these young guys are going to have to have a rest.

"We will have to sit down and look at the situation and decide how important the win is. The one-day series will show us whether we are ahead of the pack, but it is going to be very, very difficult to get this balance right. I'd rather have someone playing too little cricket than the other way around. If he's undercooked, then we can take him forward; if he's overcooked, it's gone, finished, too late."

Fletcher also warned not to expect too much from Anderson, a bowler who twelve months ago was still playing club cricket. "I think it's going to be a big ask for Anderson to bowl through all these Tests and one-dayers," Fletcher explained. "There's a lot of travelling as well. He seems fine now but you don't want to shut the stable door and find that the horse has already bolted."

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