Carry on winning

The England squad for their forthcoming five Tests in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is pretty much as expected. And, especially after the amazing turnaround at The Oval, this England side will also be expected to carry on winning - certainly in Bangladesh, for all their improvement, which started in Australia and continued in Pakistan.

Sri Lanka might be a different matter. Muttiah Muralitharan is currently warming up by taking wickets for fun in county cricket - the man who signed him for Kent should take a bow, as he's kept them in the top division - and that's just a warm-up for those spin-friendly surfaces at home. But these days he is the one standout star of a reshaped Sri Lankan side lacking Aravinda de Silva, with Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene in subdued form, and a captain in Hashan Tillekeratne not noted for outrageous gambles. Even Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka's other world-class bowler, hasn't set the Rose Bowl aglow in his limited outings for Hampshire.

Of the borderline selections Ed Smith is arguably the unluckiest (maybe he'll write a book about it). He was unfortunate to have to start on two dodgy tracks at Trent Bridge and Headingley, and deserved a run on the traditional Oval belter - but when he got it the gulf between him and Graham Thorpe was pronounced. With Thorpe booking his seat and Nasser Hussain bound to return, Smith was squeezed out once the selectors went for only 15 players (and two wicketkeepers). But Smith has the ability to go back to county cricket and apply himself to the main fault that Pollock and Co. exposed - that hanging-out-to-dry diagonal bat against the back-of-a-length ball. He could come again.

Martin Bicknell must also have wondered whether his golf business would be taking a back seat while he bunkered down in Chittagong and Colombo. But at 34 time was not on his side, and his pace is just too sedate for modern Test cricket. But the memories of those vital incisions in the second innings at The Oval should keep him warm this winter.

It's also hard to see what James Kirtley did wrong - Man of the Match on Test debut, not wanted on voyage less than a month later. At least he kept his place in the one-day squad (and is a standby for the Test party, along with Andrew Strauss and James Foster), but it's a shame those persistent whispers about his action won't go away.

There might be a surprise in the wicketkeeping stakes. What was seen as a straightforward ceremonial handing over of the golden gloves from Alec Stewart to Chris Read has been sexed up by the inclusion of Geraint Jones, whose potential was such that Kent decided to boot out Paul Nixon - the last England No. 2 - to give Jones a clear run this year. He has responded well, especially with a gritty century after Nixon collected a ton against Kent for Leicestershire, and impressing everyone outside Nixon's immediate family with his tidy batting and keeping.

One area the Test party is lacking is in spin. Not of the Alistair Campbell type, but the Muralitharan variety. Ashley Giles did well in Sri Lanka last time, and Gareth Batty is admirably keen - but neither of them puts too many revs on the ball. Robert Croft, who seems to be next in line, does give it more of a tweak, and it would be more sensible to have him out there from the start, soaking up the atmosphere and the team bonding, rather than sending an almost inevitable call over the Severn Bridge when the team arrives in Colombo and beholds a bunsen.