Graveney nears his hundred

David Graveney (c) Getty Images

Cricket folk love statistics and scarcely a day goes by without some obscure piece of cricketing minutiae appearing that might or might not be relevant to the game. As Tuesday's first Test between Bangladesh and England approaches, the statistics are flying about. That is now surprise as it is the first time the two countries have met in the Test arena, but there is fact that has not gained such a wide circulation. This Test is the one hundredth since David Graveney became a selector.

He first joined the selection panel in 1995, the year after he finished playing, and took the chair in 1997. For those interested in what could be a meaningless statistic, the 99 Tests have consisted of 32 wins, 32 draws and 35 defeats.

The mere fact that he has remained in position for so long speaks volumes for his character, especially in a post where the holder is always open to criticism. "It's gone very quickly," he says. "It's very enjoyable and still a great honour to do and I'd love to keep going for as long as people want me to do it."

As everyone who follows the game has an idea about who should be in the team and who should not be near it means that the selectors are never likely to get it right in everybody's book, so you have to ask just how much enjoyment he really does get from the job. "You can't say it's a laugh a minute 24 hours a day, but the honour is still there and I'm perhaps more conscious of that with my cricketing background," he says, referring to the fact that he never played for England himself.

Graveney was a very good county left-arm spinner with Gloucestershire, then briefly with Somerset and finally as the first captain of Durham when they entered the Championship. He took 981 wickets at a fraction over 30 in a first-class career that stretched from 1972 to 1994. He was no doubt mentioned by his predecessors in selection meetings without ever getting the final nod.

The nearest he came was in 1988 when England needed another spinner to play at Old Trafford against the West Indies. Graveney was in good form and was asked about his availability. Although he took 53 wickets that season, he was suffering with a shoulder problem and had the guts to say that he was not one hundred per cent fit and that he might not be able to last for a five-day Test. Ironically, the man chosen was John Childs, who had been Graveney's understudy at Bristol before moving to join Essex. To add to his frustration, he was axed as Gloucestershire captain at the end of that season, just as his father Ken and uncle Tom had been earlier.

He used to enjoy captaincy and found a role for his abilities in that sphere when "skippering" the selection panel. He does admit, however, that the job has changed since he has been involved. "It's not the chairman of selectors leading from the front now. I'm responsible for selection but it's a clearly defined situation where the selectors select and that team is now passed on to the England team management. I'll pass my observations on to them but they're the sharp end and I can't expect to run it from a distance (when they are on tour) but that doesn't absolve responsibility for how the team plays."

With all his experience of the job, it is interesting to find out whether he thinks the job is becoming easier or harder. "It's easier when we win," he retorts. "But it's hard to judge. Obviously it's great that we play Australia every two years but it also means that we can take some strides forward and then we run into the best team in the world. That makes it hard on the players and hard on the management. Everyone takes a few hits on their confidence and then everybody has to get behind English cricket and we start again."

Despite those setbacks, Graveney is confident that there is strength in depth in the English game. "There are a lot of very good players out there and perhaps I should spend less time at Tests in this country and more time going out and looking at them. I think it's important to be assessing players and being able to say to them `don't give up, keep taking wickets and keep scoring runs and you'll be there.' It's impossible to give everyone a chance as life is unfair like that, but if they perform and a door opens at the right time, they'll get their opportunity."

It is always said that 2007 will be a crucial year for English cricket. That is the deadline set for England to be the best side in the world. Are we on course? "Only time will tell, but I think we've got some fantastic series coming up because other than everybody trying to beat Australia and finding it difficult, I think everyone else can beat each other. The idea of playing Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand and then West Indies again will give us a fair idea of where we are."

Before that, of course, comes the series against Bangladesh. It is just possible that it could end with England in third place in the ICC Test ranking table. It was not so long ago that, unofficially, England were at the bottom of the pile, so whatever happens in Dhaka and Chittagong, England have made steady progress. A suitable testimony to the fact that the selectors, and the man in charge celebrating his centenary, have got it right more often than not.