Somerset boss raises the question of player availability for the coming season

With the third and final Test Match against New Zealand finely balanced, Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson reflected on the situation in his office at the County Ground this morning.

Mr Anderson told me: "Like other England supporters I will be busily chewing my fingernails tonight in the hope that we can hold onto the match and win the series 1-0, but it looks as though our team could be up against it.

"My thoughts are now turning to the availability of Caddick and Trescothick for the coming season's matches, particularly in the light of Marcus Trescothick's continued assertions that he is both physically and mentally exhausted and needs a rest ahead of the home Test Match series.

"I don't know what shape Caddick is in because over the last year he has not bowled that many overs. In the England home series he was not over bowled, for Somerset last summer he only bowled 88 overs and he has bowled the same on the winter tour of New Zealand.

"In his case it did seem that he struggled for rhythm through not bowling since the end of the home international season and it might just be that Duncan Fletcher feels that he needs to get some domestic overs under his belt before the start of the home Test match series. Whatever his decision the club accepts that Caddick's availability will be very limited this season.

"But what we really want to know is will Richard Johnson be centrally contracted, and if so will he regularly feature in the England side. If not will he be released to play for Somerset?

"Will Steffan Jones finally be recognised by England as an effective one day bowler, and if so does that mean he will be missing for the England triangular one day series in the middle of the season?

"Those queries then lead us to the nub of our dilemma. How good are Bulbeck, Trego, Francis and Tucker? How are we going to find out, because they can't all play in the first team which is the real testing ground."