In an effort to keep our lineup of England hopefuls as pertinent and current as possible, throughout the season AOC will be wielding the axe should we feel any of our XI have slipped from the international reckoning.
The first victim of our cutthroat selection policy is Essex paceman Maurice Chambers, who has struggled to build on his winter away with England Lions in the Caribbean and at the time of writing has taken nine wickets – two fewer than his teammate and another member of our prospective England XI Ravi Bopara – at an average of 36.55 in Championship cricket.
The right-arm quick began the season well enough, claiming five scalps in Essex’s opening fixture against Kent, but just four wickets followed in his next three matches, with Chambers acknowledging on his Twitter account that he was suffering from a lack of rhythm during the defeat to Middlesex at Lord’s.
Perhaps due to that lack of rhythm, Chambers is yet to feature for the Eagles in the CB40 and after due deliberation the AOC panel of selectors have decided the time is right to replace him with Glamorgan’s promising right-arm seamer James Harris.
Harris, who became the youngest player to claim a seven-wicket Championship haul when he was just 17, has long been earmarked as a bowler of international pedigree and the 20-year-old has begun the season strongly with 18 wickets in all competitions, including opening the campaign with match figures of 8-101 in Glamorgan’s victory over Gloucestershire.
Having toured West Indies with England Lions this winter, Harris – who also has five first-class fifties to his name – is evidently in the thoughts of the international selectors and he will be eyeing a spot in a revamped ODI side as England look to rebuild under the stewardship of new skipper Alastair Cook.
Harris will have an immediate opportunity to prove his worth when Glamorgan Dragons take on Essex Eagles in the CB40 on Friday afternoon.
