Richard Boock: A selector's job is a pain

If the world finger-crossing championships were to be staged tomorrow, it's a fair bet that the likely finalists would be New Zealand's John Bracewell and England's Duncan Fletcher.

In the category of outright gambling and blind optimism, the pair are looming head and shoulders over all other contenders after announcing their squads for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes series, respectively.

Bracewell's one-day squad for next month's mini world cup reads like an out-patients list from a local accident and emergency clinic.

All-rounder Jacob Oram is on the comeback trail after reportedly being cleared of a back injury, Daniel Vettori is returning from his umpteenth stress-fracture, fast-bowler Shane Bond from a knee complaint, and James Franklin from a leg strain.

To make matters even more uncertain, all-rounder Scott Styris will travel to India despite suffering a back injury playing for English county side Middlesex, with an assessment to be made later on his bowling prospects.

You can almost hear the Hail Marys and Our Fathers from here.

The alarmingly-long injury list is thought to be one of the principal reasons why Bracewell opted for fit but relatively untested paceman Mark Gillespie ahead of the more experienced, but injury-prone Andre Adams.

Critics have been quick to question the wisdom of carrying so many vulnerable players but, to be fair to Bracewell, it's not as if he had options to burn or depth aplenty.

In fact it could be argued that, while including players of unreliable fitness was not ideal, it would have been a far bigger gaffe to have instead picked three or four substandard replacements.

Having an ultra-fit bowling attack doesn't mean much if you're always chasing 500.

Of the New Zealand players under scrutiny, most interest will undoubtedly surround the performance of fast bowler Bond, whose last act for New Zealand was to return home from the South African tour without playing a test.

Without doubt the sharpest cutting edge in the New Zealand attack, Bond has played 45 ODIs while missing 67 through injury, and has managed to play just 14 tests since his debut in 2001.

At 31, it's getting to the stage that he might need to consider the idea of stepping down from the test arena, if only to protect his fitness enough to endure on the one-day scene.

The other nagging worry for Bracewell will be the fitness of Vettori, who, although not taking many ODI wickets over the past couple of seasons, has proved the most economical of bowlers and has effectively carried the attack.

If the worst was to happen and the country's leading spinner was to suffer another back fracture, or a relapse of an existing one, it would almost certainly mean curtains for his upcoming World Cup campaign, if not his career.

And it's difficult to imagine a New Zealand team without Vettori's experience grabbing any success in this season's three major competitions, the Champions Trophy, the VB Series, and the World Cup.

Fletcher's squad for the much-awaited Ashes rematch in Australia also flies in the face of a host of historical lessons, containing as it does five unfit players, and one with apparent psychological problems.

Newly reappointed skipper Flintoff, spinner Ashley Giles and pacemen Liam Plunkett, Stephen Harmison and James Anderson have all been included despite carrying a catalogue of injuries, and there is still doubt about the mental state of batsman Marcus Trescothick.

It's true, the English have moved to counter concerns by naming an additional 14-man "Academy" squad for the tour Down Under, but the gnawing doubts must still remain after the shambles of 2002-03.

For that Ashes crusade, England gambled on the fitness of Flintoff and Darren Gough, both of whom arrived in Australia carrying injuries and, amid much lampooning from the local media, left without playing a test.

It was soon after that embarrassed chairman of selectors David Graveney vowed never again to take injured players on tour.

WHO'S CROCKED

New Zealand

Stephen Fleming (captain)
Nathan Astle
Peter Fulton
Lou Vincent
Scott Styris?
Hamish Marshall
Jacob Oram?
Brendon McCullum
Daniel Vettori?
James Franklin?
Kyle Mills
Shane Bond?
Jeetan Patel
Mark Gillespie

Ashes squad

Andrew Strauss
Marcus Trescothick?
Ian Bell
Paul Collingwood
Alastair Cook
Andrew Flintoff (captain)?
Kevin Pietersen
Geraint Jones
Chris Read
Ashley Giles?
Liam Plunkett?
James Anderson?
Steve Harmison?
Matthew Hoggard
Sajid Mahmood
Monty Panesar