Stewart to Pass on Gloves

They won't pick Alec Stewart this week. On Thursday David Graveney will announce England's one-day international squad for the series against Pakistan and the triangular tournament involving Zimbabwe and South Africa, and he has advised us that it will be young.

There have to be wholesale changes. Three of the World Cup squad have officially retired (Nasser Hussain, Nick Knight and Andrew Caddick); Stewart has retired unofficially; Paul Collingwood is injured; the Ronnie Irani experiment is over; and Ian Blackwell is in detention (despite his obvious talent, the England management are unhappy with his attitude and his shape). So the selectors have an unusually blank sheet of paper in front of them.

Wherever possible, it is best to keep as many of the personnel from the Test team in the one-day squad. The best players are usually the best players whatever the format. But England's form batsman, Mark Butcher, has never played a one-day international and it may be a bit late to start now. Despite his century in a Test, he is not guaranteed a place in Surrey's best one-day team.

Alongside the captain Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick, they could retain Robert Key (even though his mobility could be better) and for certain they will keep faith with Anthony McGrath, who most impressed Duncan Fletcher in one -day cricket for Yorkshire last summer.

Jim Troughton and Vikram Solanki are the most likely candidates to fill the other batting slots. The young giant from Essex, Will Jefferson, is also impressing the selectors, while the Warwickshire pair of Ian Bell and Mark Wagh are worth a mention at the meeting.

As ever, Andrew Flintoff will be there with the usual proviso - if fit. Rikki Clarke, of Surrey, might be another all-rounder, though in this department I would make my one concession to experience. Adam Hollioake, a former England one-day captain who is batting vigorously, might be an invaluable aide for Vaughan on and off the pitch and his presence would at least keep my colleague Kevin Mitchell quiet for a moment or two.

Chris Read will be the solitary wicketkeeper, Trescothick can deputize in an emergency, and Ashley Giles the solitary spinner. Of the Test bowlers, I would omit Steve Harmison, whom England dare not allow to surface in the World Cup. Playing him in one-day cricket would merely complicate his education.

Instead, expect James Kirtley to resurface as well as Kabir Ali of Worcestershire. There's seldom been a better opportunity for the young pups to make a name for themselves.

Possible squad: Vaughan (Yorkshire), Trescothick (Somerset), Solanki (Worcestershire), Key (Kent), Troughton (Warwickshire), McGrath (Yorkshire), Flintoff (Lancashire), Hollioake (Surrey), Clarke (Surrey), Giles (Warwickshire), Read (Nottinghamshire), Kabir Ali (Worcestershire), Kirtley (Sussex), Hoggard (Yorkshire), Anderson (Lancashire).

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