Change in One-Day selection policy brings Stewart back in reckoning

That desire to `pick their best XI’ has opened the door once again for Stewart, who needs only one more cap to eclipse Graham Gooch’s record of 125 One-Day appearances for England, and will go some way towards healing the bitter disappointment he felt at being overlooked during the winter.

“He was very disappointed to be left out, but responded in the right way,” explained Chairman of selectors David Graveney, who will sit down with Geoff Miller, Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher this weekend to discuss their options.

Stewart’s likely recall will be at the expense of youngster Chris Read, who played in all nine of England’s One-Day internationals during the winter and acquitted himself well after three months of inactivity during the Test series.

The inclusion of Fairbrother is less guaranteed, however, with Surrey left-hander Graham Thorpe also presenting a case for his recall with runs in recent weeks after his controversial withdrawal from touring last winter.

Fairbrother’s record in domestic One-Day cricket is comparable with any having played a major part in propelling Lancashire’s stuttering batting line-up into the Benson and Hedges Cup semi-finals.

Unlike Stewart though, Fairbrother’s fitness cannot be relied upon anymore and England may see Thorpe, who is only 30, as a better alternative, particularly as the triangular series would be a way of easing him back into England fold.

“The number five position requires a special player,”conceded Graveney. “Whether we are 50 for three or 100 for three, we need a player there who can either continue the momentum or re-build the innings and I don’t think that is the position you can thrust on a young player.

“Winning in this tournament is very important to us. Normally a One-Day tournament comes before or after a Test series and to have it after just two Tests is very unusual.

“Because of that, if we can beat the West Indies in these games, it will obviously stand us in good stead.”

The core of the squad, in fact, is likely to be largely made up of thirty somethings from captain Hussain through to Nick Knight, Graeme Hick and Darren Gough – a clear reversal in policy from the winter.

“Winning creates the right environment and the one lesson I’ve learned in the last 12 months is that trying to introduce young players into a losing or struggling environment is not an easy thing to do,” explained Graveney.

Warwickshire’s left-arm spinner Ashley Giles is likely to fight off competition from Robert Croft and Chris Schofield for the slow bowler’s spot while England will monitor the fitness levels of both Alan Mullally and Craig White before deciding on their selections.