'What a load of poppycock'

After the decision comes the comment. The general consensus in the British press was that the selectors had chosen a batsman-heavy Test squad with the surprise inclusion of Rikki Clarke, and to a lesser extent Geraint Jones, while Darren Gough's omission from the ODI squad kicked up the biggest fuss.

Mike Walters, in The Mirror, was the most outspoken about Gough's absence. Under the headline "Dazzler snub fury", Walters claimed that Gough's exclusion was "easily the most contentious call as England declared their hand for the coming tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Lord's yesterday." And he explained why: "In less than nine weeks ... he has gone from new-ball partner Jimmy Anderson's indispensable minder to excess baggage. The selectors must have taken leave of their senses."

And the selectors' suggestion that Gough may get a look-in for the ODIs in the Caribbean, and that they wanted to look at other options in the build-up to the 2007 World Cup, cut no ice with the splenetic Walters either: "What a load of poppycock," he spluttered. "They are leaving their best exponent of the white ball twiddling his thumbs when Gough's reverse swing on abrasive pitches would have been a real asset."

Most agreed with Walters. "Gough with their heads" screamed The Sun. John Etheridge said it will be "amazing if Gough plays for his country again", a view backed up by Mike Selvey in The Guardian. "Darren Gough's dream of playing in the 2007 World Cup looked in tatters yesterday ... and it now looks as if Gough will follow Alec Stewart into the history books." He added: "Perhaps there has been some reticence in this aspect, for few people anywhere in the game have such a depth of knowledge of how to bowl on the subcontinent as Gough, after he played a major part in recent England successes in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Instead the bowling in the one-day squad will be in the inexperienced hands of Richard Johnson and James Kirtley, neither of whom has a fitness record to be proud of."

Derek Pringle, in Daily Telegraph, wrote: "Bangladesh is one of the wettest places on earth, but that was probably not a consideration when the selectors decided to force England's Test and one-day bowling attack to sink or swim after preferring the likes of Rikki Clarke to old sweats such as Darren Gough and Martin Bicknell." On the hot topic of Gough, Pringle put a more positive slant on the issue. He wrote: "To drop Gough from the one-day party, after winning Man of the Match award in the NatWest Series final against South Africa, suggests a determination to force the other bowlers to grow up." He continued: "Although a calculated risk, Gough's absence will provide a good litmus test for those assigned his speciality - bowling at the death. His omission was a unanimous decision, at least according to Graveney, and it is probably not as dicey as taking just three front-line pace bowlers to a part of the world where E.coli can be as potent as Murali."

But hauling your eyes away from Gough and the ODI squad for just a moment, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, in The Times, cast his thoughts - and doubts - on the Test squad. On Clarke and Paul Collingwood, CMJ decreed that neither are "likely to be much of a force as a Test bowler". His main gripe, however, was the shortage of bowlers: "The choice of Gareth Batty and Geraint Jones means there are four players uncapped at Test level in a team that will be heavily dependent on a group of experienced batsmen." He added: "The shortage of quality bowling is bound to be felt at times on the second leg of the tour in Sri Lanka. It is all Lombard Street to a China orange that replacements will be needed sooner or later." And "having stated that Read is the chosen man as Alec Stewart's successor, the selectors might have been wiser to include an extra bowler rather than a second wicketkeeper."

Too few bowlers, a wicketkeeper too many, and the snubbing of their best one-day bowler - all in a day's work for an England selector.