David Graveney Quotations

The A tour runs simultaneously with the main tour and will be regarded as the next best players available.

It is going to be hard to win four games in a row.

In choosing our Test squad we wanted to show faith with the same group of players who have performed extremely well for England over the past two years. Although we lost the series, there were some encouraging individual performances from players who are new to Test cricket and we are keen to continue their development.

Ian Blackwell is a talented player who performed well in the one-day series in Pakistan and this is a terrific opportunity for him to show that he can fulfil his potential against top class opposition.

Ian Blackwell has been placed on standby to join the Test squad if Ashley fails to recover from his injury in time prior to the tour.

People have a spring in their step. When you read that the TV ratings exceeded the final night of Big Brother, you know that you're heading in the right direction.

He is a very good spinner. He gives the ball a good twist and has a very bright future.

Until they go through fitness tests it's impossible to know if they are totally right. If you remember, we all thought Simon Jones would be fit to play at the Oval and he didn't.

Then we had a change halfway through. It hasn't been a subject that has cropped up in my discussions - which have mainly been about support for Michael - or whatever discussions I've had with Duncan when I've made contact with him in India.

Darren would like to make it clear that he has not decided to retire from one-day international cricket and the selectors fully understand his reasons.