| Not much criticism can be levelled against England | | | | pushed from the England captaincy job and it is |
| Captain, Kevin Pietersen at present, particularly as he | | | | amazing how he managed to secure such a lucrative |
| is unbeaten in any match since his captaincy began in | | | | contract with the team. It is particularly galling when |
| the summer. There are some who suggest that the | | | | one considers his age and the fact that players like |
| England squad is a closed shop and there may | | | | Ravi Bopara still have to continue waiting. |
| evidence of that with the central contract award to | | | | Admittedly, Bopara has been awarded a place in the |
| former captain, Michael Vaughan and the inclusion of | | | | squad for the Stanford twenty/20 million dollar series |
| test match opener, Alister Cook for the Stanford | | | | and he may get a nice reward if England goes on to |
| Super Series. It is not absolutely certain of how much | | | | win. However, an unofficial twenty/2o series is scant |
| influence, Pietersen had with these decisions, but it is | | | | reward for a player who up until recently was being |
| clear that he has endorsed them | | | | hailed as the next big thing in cricket. He still has time |
| With the best will in the world, Vaughan has had a | | | | on his side of course, he has been included for the |
| very poor period with the bat in the past twelve | | | | one day series against India and don top of that he |
| months. He has averaged just 27 and has done | | | | has also been awarded an incremental central |
| precious little since he captained the side to their epic | | | | contract, which he will be hoping will be his passport |
| Ashes victory in 2005. He jumped before he was | | | | for a permanent place. |