Selectors stick to tried and tested

The return of Simon Jones is a major boost for England © Getty Images

At times, towards the end of a disillusioning tour of Pakistan, it was hard to recall the values that turned England's cricketers into the stand-out team of 2005. Run-down and defeated, their collective body-language screamed for a break from the grind, as they surrendered first the Test series and then the one-dayers with a barely a shrug of their weary shoulders.

Happily, the first and most crucial of these values was back on display this morning, as England unveiled a 15-man Test squad that was a model of selectorial consistency. With Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles and, crucially, Simon Jones, making good recovery after operations on their knee, hip and ankle respectively, all that remained was the rubber-stamp from the ECB headquarters.

Matt Prior retains his place as the reserve wicketkeeper, with the other 14 places going to each of the men who have represented England's Test team since the start of the Ashes. Liam Plunkett and Shaun Udal, newly capped in Pakistan, retain their slots, while Jones's return revives the prospect of England fielding the same 11 that did the hard work in those crucial first four Tests against Australia.

Jones's last outing came at Trent Bridge back in August, but his absence has been keenly felt ever since. As the one England bowler who has truly mastered the art of reverse-swing, his skills would have been invaluable on the bland Pakistani wickets, where the lack of pace and bounce meant that for long periods of an innings, England's remaining bowlers were forced to sit tight and await the return of the new ball.

The fact that England have called on just 14 caps in six months implies that a 15-man squad should be more than ample for a three-match Test series that is crammed into barely three weeks. Yet, there is still room for one more spinner, as back-up for Giles and Udal, neither of whom were at their most incisive in Pakistan.

The romantics have been hankering for Northants' 23-year-old left-armer, Monty Panesar, who is expected, sooner or later, to become the first Sikh to play for England. But Alex Loudon, who trained in India in December as part of a spin-bowling camp, remains firmly in the reckoning.

"Loudon went on the first tour and had a fantastic approach to his game," said David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors. "Monty Panesar has done very well for Northants and Ian Blackwell is in the one-day squad. We can work with them on their games and it just gives us a little more. We didn't want to make any hasty decisions."

Loudon and James Anderson are the two Pakistan picks that have missed the cut this time, but in Anderson's case especially, that is probably for the best. He'll be back in time for the seven-match one-day series, to continue an international rehabilitation that earned him a Man-of-the-Match award in the last one-dayer at Rawalpindi, but after three consecutive winters of carrying the drinks in foreign climes, he has a chance to lead the attack for England A in the Caribbean - where, incidentally, he can expect to be in 14 months' time when the World Cup gets underway.

Though the selectors have shown faith in the men who underperformed in Pakistan, that will count for nothing unless the lessons of that tour have been heeded and distilled. There remain some very real questions as to the balance of the batting in particular, with Paul Collingwood failing to convince as a genuine frontline option - his 96 and 80 in Lahore notwithstanding - and Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff appearing more reckless than daring with their gung-ho approach to middle-order batting.

Even so, the Test squad remains the model for England's overall approach, if the make-up of the one-day side is anything to go by. Darren Gough's omission comes as no surprise, not even to the man himself, but Vikram Solanki has been replaced by Ian Bell, which suggests that the grand plan is for both England squads ultimately to be drawn from the same pool of players.

That is all well and good, but it overlooks the small matter of player burn-out. Flintoff, who is expected to miss the third Test in Mumbai to attend the birth of his second child, was noticeably withdrawn during the closing stages in Pakistan, and yesterday his agent, Chubby Chandler, appealed for him to be rested from the ICC Champions Trophy in September - given that England are likely to be on international duty for more than 300 days in the next 12 months.

On the one hand, England's selection consistency is admirable. But the flip side will only become apparent when the injuries and fatigue start to pile up in the course of a gruelling 2006 season. In fact, the more interesting squad - the A team to tour West Indies - has yet to be announced. It is a fair bet that several of these players will find themselves fast-tracked by circumstance as the year progresses.