England gamble on Shah's potential

England's rot-stopping exercise in Zimbabwe, where they ended an 11-match losing run by winning five one-day internationals on the trot, has not benefited everyone. While there are places on next year's tours to India and New Zealand for new faces like Jeremy Snape, James Foster and Matthew Hoggard, there is no spot for the perennial fall-guy, Mark Ramprakash.

Given that Ramprakash played in every match on the recent trip, his omission is curious. Despite admitting that he had not done himself justice with the bat, he bowled and fielded well. By contrast, Owais Shah, who finds himself picked ahead of his old Middlesex colleague, played once and faced just two balls on the tour.

Muddled thinking over team make-up is nothing new and in attempting to clarify the decision, the chairman of selectors, David Graveney, said England were building a side for the next World Cup and they were "keen to retain Shah as he had impressed against Australia and Pakistan during the summer".

With the 10 of the 16-man squad under the age of 30, the first claim is fair enough but if Shah, 23 next week, did stand out, why did coach Duncan Fletcher say in Zimbabwe that it was up to him "to prove the selectors wrong"? As a young player still finding his way, surely it would have been prudent for Shah to experience the same confidence booster enjoyed by Paul Collingwood, who against weak opponents, averaged 84 in his three matches.

Foster and Snape also benefited from the beano in Harare and Bulawayo, the 21-year-old Essex wicketkeeper overcoming early jitters to the extent of getting a warning from match referee, Colonel Naushad Ali, for sledging Andy Flower. Naushad also reported James Kirtley's bowling action to the International Cricket Council, but Graveney stressed that the Sussex pace bowler's omission from the main winter squad was not related.

Snape, as he has done often for Gloucestershire, showed himself cool enough under pressure with ball and bat to join Ashley Giles in the spin department and oust Robert Croft. Hoggard, too, converted his superlative county form into international currency with 10 wickets at 13.9 each.

As expected, back too are the bankers, Darren Gough and Andy Caddick. Gough's decision not to go to India for the Test series ruled him out of the New Zealand leg, though not for the one-day series in either country. With five matches against each, starting in India on 22 January and in New Zealand on 13 February, England will face more rigorous opposition than they met in Harare and Bulawayo over the past fortnight. Only then will they have a real idea of how their World Cup plans are progressing.

Despite strong words to the contrary from Lord MacLaurin on Monday, the word from India's camp is that both the Test tour next month and the one-day series are still on. According to Jagmohan Dalmiya, the recently re-instated president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, there is no reason why England's visit should not go ahead.

"There are no visible signs of trouble in India connected with the current military action taken by the USA and its allies," said Dalmiya at the ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

"However, in view of the recent concerns expressed over the safety of the England players, I have confirmed to Lord MacLaurin and Tim Lamb that I have been in discussion with the Indian government regarding the provision of appropriate security measures for the team while they are in our country. You can be sure the government would not allow the tour to take place if they felt that the physical safety of the team was under threat."

The England and Wales Cricket Board's response is that while both boards are keen for the tours to proceed, the situation will be monitored via communication with the Foreign Office and the British High Commission in Delhi.

This stance is at odds with that of the players, many of whom are concerned. Travel in India can be chaotic at the best of times and many feel that touring in the current climate, whatever the safety guarantees, places unnecessary stress on them and their families. Speaking yesterday, Graveney suggested that players, ECB officials and the Foreign Office should get together next week to ensure that all three parties are involved in the decision-making process.