CRICKET WORLD

The English press - at times kind but mostly ruthless - ponder the ins and outs of England's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20...

The Independent offers little hope to comeback kid Mike Yardy and questions the merit of selecting the perennially crocked Ryan Sidebottom.

"The 15 players named for the tournament to be played in the Caribbean in May include three who are uncapped in the format, a batsman who has not played an international match for three years, another who has been out of favour since being dropped during last summer's Ashes series, a bowler who has spent most of his recent career on the treatment table and a star who might have to dash back any hour to be with his wife at the birth of their first child.

"Apart from that, the selection may be a model of how to build a side gradually to ensure it peaks on the day of the big match. The choice that the selectors have made, or rather the gamble that they have taken, means that there are six changes from the 15 who competed in the same competition in England only nine months ago.

"The choice of the 22-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, Craig Kieswetter, flavour of the month and it is to be hoped the decade, makes it certain that England will use their 17th different opening batting combination in 26 T20 internationals. As soon as one pair fails another one is summoned, which is less selection policy than hailing a cab and hoping for the best."

While the bulk of headlines afford the South African-born Englishman plenty of applauds, The Telegraph fails to let the omission of another go unnoticed.

"What has slipped under the radar is the omission of Jonathan Trott. Most people seem to have forgotten that Trott played in England's last five Twenty20 matches, probably because he turned in a series of anonymous performances.

"Am I alone in wondering whether we might already have seen the best of Trott in an England shirt? Since the euphoria of his extraordinary Test debut, he has clearly struggled with the mental demands of international cricket. I interviewed him in February, just before the squad left for Bangladesh, and I was amazed at how negative and self-critical he was.

"Am I alone in wondering whether we might already have seen the best of Trott in an England shirt? Since the euphoria of his extraordinary Test debut, he has clearly struggled with the mental demands of international cricket. I interviewed him in February, just before the squad left for Bangladesh, and I was amazed at how negative and self-critical he was.

"To be a success today, you need to be able to reinvent your game all the time, and to do it without second-guessing yourself in the way that Trott tends to. Sooner or later, Eoin Morgan will probably steal his Test place, simply because he has a steelier mindset."

Craig Kieswetter might be The Independent's "flavour of the month" on a batting front, but the Daily Mail won't offer his wicketkeeping ability the time of day. And there's even mention of a forgotten Middlesex man.

"England will gamble on a totally new, all 'South African' opening partnership to try to get them off to explosive starts in their latest attempt at an elusive global title.

"It is a measure of England's failure to make an impact in the short-form they gave the world that they are prepared to go into a global event with two Twenty20 international debutants in the all-important opening slots. Only the recalled Ravi Bopara will provide an opening alternative in the Caribbean.

"One of the unexpected bonuses of the Twenty20 game is how it has brought top quality wicketkeeping to the fore but that was not enough to save the much improved Prior, nor indeed James Foster, who kept exceptionally for England in the last World Twenty20.

"Instead they have gone for someone who is no more than competent with the gloves.

"The absence of Owais Shah means that he has almost certainly been consigned to international history."

The Times cotton onto England's astounding penchant for tossing Twenty20 caps around willy nilly and question the selection process of Geoff Miller and posse.

"England are yet to reach the last four of a World Twenty20, but the squad of 15 announced yesterday for the tournament in the Caribbean that begins this month has struck enough of a balance between flair and pragmatism to raise hopes of better progress this time.

"By including Craig Kieswetter as opening batsman and wicketkeeper, at the expense of Matt Prior, the selectors avoided a potential fudge, and the timely presence of Ravi Bopara and Michael Lumb in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has pushed them ahead of Jonathan Trott and Joe Denly.

"Constructing a Twenty20 squad is problematic. While domestic tournaments expand, the number of international matches remains in check. England on tour still pick from their 50-over party rather than fly out specialists for one or two games. Miller and his colleagues, then, are going by hunches as much as evidence.

"To a large degree, that is what selection is about, but turnover from the previous World Twenty20 in England last June is striking: Robert Key, James Foster, Graham Napier, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Adil Rashid have been replaced by Lumb, Kieswetter, Yardy, James Tredwell, Ajmal Shahzad and Bresnan."

Finally, The Guardian stoop to quoting Twitter and referencing the Indian Premier League in their bid to promote Lumb's selection.

"For Lumb, though, there was still plenty to celebrate. His has been an unspectacular but satisfying first IPL season and he is admired in India both for his abrasive attitude and ability to hit over the top. Even the great chairman himself, Lalit Modi, was moved to post "Lumb - looks good" on Twitter, a noteworthy personal endorsement from the godfather of cricket. And oddly for a man who might struggle to get himself recognised in Southampton, he is now a familiar face to 42m Indian TV viewers and an object of some veneration inside the thronging stadiums.

"Lumb is not the first Englishman to use cricket's great spangled billionaire's beano as a springboard to international success. Graham Napier of Essex played a couple of unremarkable matches for Mumbai Indians last season and was also rewarded with an England squad spot.

"Lumb seems a little more likely to be a lasting success. Perhaps his own previous experience of migration has helped. Lumb is the son of the former Yorkshire opener Richard Lumb, but he was born in Johannesburg and played for South Africa Under-19s before returning to England in 1998."