Time to Let Bell Learn the Ropes

Having flirted for too long with the notion of handy as opposed to quality all-rounders for the one-day side, the England selectors will take a step in the right direction today when they announce a 14-man squad for the three-match series against India and the Champions Trophy which follows it.

Key to their thinking is the return to full fitness of Andy Flintoff, for which, in the face of much criticism during the disappointing NatWest series, they remain grateful. There is resonance here of the 60s group the Dave Clark Five: Bits and Pieces one minute, Glad All Over the next.

Flintoff rivals South Africa's Jacques Kallis as the world's leading all-rounder, and his inability to bowl during the one-day triangular tournament this summer, the result of inflammation caused by a bone spur on his left ankle, unbalanced the side as he played as a specialist batsman.

In this he was extremely successful, scoring back-to-back centuries - the first he has made at this level - thereby turning an inconvenience into an essential part of his learning curve. However, his pace bowling, just short of a length and lending more control than can be delivered by any of his team-mates, was sorely missed. England were dumped out of their own competition by New Zealand and West Indies.

Now Flintoff's return to bowling form - he sent down some tentative overs during the first Test and upped the workload in last week's win at Edgbaston - will allow England to balance the side better, without the need to find fill-in bowlers. The attack may even revert to something near that which is so successful in Test cricket.

There should also be an opportunity, now that he has recovered from injury and is backfiring, for Simon Jones to be introduced with an eye on the 2007 World Cup, and he may be included alongside Steve Harmison, James Anderson and, probably for the last time - how often must we say that? - Darren Gough.

The continuing presence of Essex's Yorkshireman, though, admirable as he remains, has to be counterproductive even in the short term, when England players need to gain all the experience they can against the best. There is no finer place to start than in a series against Sachin Tendulkar and company, followed by a mini-World Cup. Matthew Hoggard, once regarded as an excellent white-ball bowler, ought to be given the chance in Gough's stead.

On the batting front the likeliest new face is the Warwickshire right-hander Ian Bell, 22, who, having been slow coming to the boil, is bubbling merrily this season. Batting is his forte but it will not have escaped attention that he bowls medium pace in much the same way as Mark Butcher, say, but with more scope for development. It all means no place for Rikki Clarke, Anthony McGrath or Ian Blackwell.

On Sunday the selectors also name their squad for the third Test against West Indies at Old Trafford beginning on Thursday. With the run of success reaching heroic proportions there is not much chance of change, although Simon Jones will be hoping for a place in the final XI instead of Anderson. Perhaps, too, with the continuing indisposition of Butcher, Bell will be introduced as part of the induction process. Gareth Batty may also be added as insurance against an old-fashioned Trafford turner.

England (possible squad for NatWest Challenge and Champions Trophy): Vaughan, Trescothick, Strauss, Key, Flintoff, Collingwood, G Jones, Giles, S Jones, Harmison, Anderson, Batty, Bell, Hoggard.

India (for NatWest Challenge and Champions Trophy): Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly (capt), Dravid, Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Kaif, Agarkar, Karthik (wk), Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Balaji, Nehra, Pathan.