MARK DAVIES AND STEVE MOORE NEXT IN LINE

QUESTION MARKS LINGER OVER LANCASHIRE SYSTEM

ALASTAIR COOK NEXT ENGLAND CAPTAIN

ENGLAND'S cricket authorities have announced 14 players outside the senior squad with a good chance of playing Test cricket within the next three years, and a total of 41 names have been listed as potential candidates. This is a laudable attempt to improve selection transparency and instil motivation.

======STOP SUMMARY=====

For the enhanced England Performance Programme, beginning in November, players have been divided into three categories according to their differing stages of development. England Under-19 internationals feature strongly in the youthful 'C' list, though one hopes that not too much credence will be put on this, because few from the younger age groups tend to move through to the elite for various reasons.

The ECB said that four ‘A’ graded players were those perceived to be closest to graduating into the England team, and the names of Mark Davies, the Durham seamer, and Stephen Moore, Lancashire's former Worcestershire opener, might seem a surprise to followers of the game, but not to anyone who watched them, as I did, on the England Lions tour of New Zealand in March. Davies was absolutely outstanding, and Moore, despite a quiet 2009 summer and moderate success on that tour, stood out as a strong competitor and a batsman with character.

The other two 'A' players are Amjad Khan, the talented if injury-prone Kent paceman, and Michael Carberry, the Hampshire batsman that no one seems sure about. All four are to receive individualised support programmes.

The ‘B’ players are those with experience of first class cricket and perceived to be one to three years away from the England team, according to the ECB. I am a little surprised that Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire all-rounder, was not listed as 'A' after his great strides last summer, whereas Joe Sayers, the Yorkshire blocker, might need more encouragement than most. The 'B' men are to undertake training camp at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough in November, and the 'C' group visit the CSA High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa, in December. Both camps will feature some competitive cricket opportunities.

The ECB said that players on the South Africa training camp before Christmas would have the opportunity to work alongside former international players Graham Gooch, Allan Donald and Saqlain Mushtaq, who will support the full-time coaching team of David Parsons, Kevin Shine, Dene Hills and Bruce French at various stages throughout the camp.

One interesting aspect from the announcement of the senior party to tour South Africa was the naming of Alastair Cook as vice-captain, a clear case of succession planning especially as he was deservedly added to the one-day squad for the first time. A really lamentable fact has emerged too. Of all the men listed, from top downwards -- 61 names in total -- there are only two Lancashire players from 2009. One was James Anderson, the leader of the attack, and the other was Sajid Mahmood, still a speculative choice as a one-day bowler. And that's it. There's no one else from Old Trafford. Perhaps swing bowler Tom Smith was unlucky to be excluded, but the small representation is a terrible indictment of Lancashire's development system.

England's senior fringe players Ian Bell, Steven Davies, Ryan Sidebottom and Liam Plunkett, all named in the Test squad against South Africa, will train in Pretoria with players on the Performance Programme before joining up with the England senior side on completion of the one-day series. A group of young fast bowlers are to spend time at a conditioning camp in Florida and at the MRF fast bowling camp in Madras under the guidance of the Australian legend Dennis Lillee.

As in previous winters, England Lions will undertake an overseas tour early in the new year and further details of the squad and opposition are still to be released.

Commenting on the winter programme, ECB performance director David Parsons said: "I am really excited about the depth of the programme we have put in place for our most talented young players this winter. We will be offering a greater range of training and support than before and have carefully tailored the programme to ensure that we can cater to the specific needs of individuals and their stages of development."

"To see eight players who were part of the England Performance Programme last winter selected for England’s tour of South Africa next month is a good indication of the importance of the programme for a player’s development. With players like Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott and Graham Onions having made an immediate impact in the international arena this summer, having spent time with EPP and England Lions squads recently, we are keen to identify other players within county cricket who can make a difference to the full England side. "

England Test squad

Andrew Strauss         (capt, Middlesex)

Alastair Cook             (vice-capt, Essex)

James Anderson         (Lancashire)

Ian Bell                     (Warwickshire)

Stuart Broad              (Nottinghamshire)

Paul Collingwood         (Durham)

Steven Davies            (Surrey)

Graham Onions           (Durham)

Kevin Pietersen          (Hampshire)

Liam Plunkett             (Durham)

Matt Prior                  (Sussex)

Adil Rashid                 (Yorkshire)

Ryan Sidebottom        (Nottinghamshire)

Graeme Swann           (Nottinghamshire)

Jonathan Trott           (Warwickshire)

Luke Wright               (Sussex)

England one-day squad

Andrew Strauss          (capt, Middlesex)

James Anderson          (Lancashire)

Tim Bresnan               (Yorkshire)

Stuart Broad              (Nottinghamshire)

Paul Collingwood         (Durham)

Alastair Cook              (Essex)

Joe Denly                   (Kent)

Sajid Mahmood           (Lancashire)

Eoin Morgan               (Middlesex)

Graham Onions           (Durham)

Kevin Pietersen          (Hampshire)

Matt Prior                  (Sussex)

Adil Rashid                (Yorkshire)

Graeme Swann          (Nottinghamshire)

Jonathan Trott         (Warwickshire)

Luke Wright             (Sussex)

HIGH PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME

A group

Mark Davies (Durham)

Amjad Khan (Kent)

Stephen Moore (Lancashire)

Michael Carberry (Hampshire)

B group

Steven Finn (Middlesex)

Andrew Gale (Yorkshire)

Rory Hamilton-Brown (Sussex)

Chris Jordan (Surrey)

Chris Nash (Sussex)

Joe Sayers (Yorkshire)

Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire)

James Taylor (Leicestershire)

David Wainwright (Yorkshire)

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

C group

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)

Vikram Banerjee (Gloucestershire)

Keith Barker (Warwickshire)

William Beer (Sussex)

Alex Blake (Kent)

Andy Carter (Nottinghamshire)

Liam Dawson (Hampshire)

Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire)

Billy Godleman (Essex)

Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)

Richard Johnson (Warwickshire)

Richard Jones (Worcestershire)

Adam Lyth (Yorkshire)

Jake Mickleburgh (Essex)

Sam Northeast (Kent)

Ollie Rayner (Sussex)

Ian Saxelby (Gloucestershire)

John Simpson (Middlesex)

Tom Smith (Sussex)

Max Waller (Somerset)

Adam Wheater (Essex)

David Willey (Northamptonshire)

Fast bowling programme

Jade Dernbach (Surrey)

David Griffiths (Hampshire)

James Harris (Glamorgan)

Stuart Meaker (Surrey)

Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire)