Selection poser

Dave Fulton ponders on why more names are not in the frame to become an England selector.

Let me start by saying that I hold no grudge against the England selectors. Yes, they picked me for the fourth Ashes Test of 2001 at Headingley in place of Mark Butcher before savagely changing their minds on the drive home. But when you consider that Butcher responded by playing one of the great Test innings in recent memory, scoring an unbeaten 173 out of 315 to win the match, I do accept that they probably got that one right. That whole selection business might not have made too many waves - outside of my cul-de-sac and my mum's front room - but the question of who picks the England cricket team is very much in the spotlight this week with the new position of national selector up for grabs. A full-time post with a salary around £80,000, it's not bad work if you can get it so it's no wonder David Graveney, the current chairman of selectors, is applying for what is effectively his old job. Graveney has presided over the most successful and certainly the most stable periods in England's recent Test history, the high point of which came with the Ashes victory in 2005. After being crushed 1-0 in the opening match of that series at Lord's 'mystic Grav' predicted a 2-1 series win for his boys, which they duly delivered in the most exhilarating of fashions. Graveney, however, has been in charge 11 years now and many in the game think it might be time to thank him and move on.

Criticised

He was heavily criticised in Duncan Fletcher's book Behind the Shades (but then again, who wasn't?) and is seen by some as a political survivor, who is happy to let others carry the can. Ironically, Graveney's biggest competition for the post might come from Geoff Miller another current selector who has been asked to re-apply for his old job. One suspects Miller might be happiest in one of the two designated part-time selector roles but it is alleged that he is being urged to take the top job. Loyalty to Graveney and the fact that the new position requires a commitment to travel with the England team on every overseas tour, which would impede his work as one of the finest after dinner speakers on the circuit, might explain his apparent reluctance. Personally, I am surprised that so few candidates have thrown their hats into the ring. Graveney has shown that it's not necessarily a position that gets chopped and changed on a whim, while getting well paid for watching cricket all day long and then having the opportunity to pick the team seems like the perfect job to me. Giles Clarke, Hugh Morris and co, if you're out there ... feel free to pick up the phone, I'm ready to serve my country.