England seeking the 'real' Caddick

Life would be so much simpler for England's selectors if they could answer one question ahead of next week's Second Test against Sri Lanka: Which Andrew Caddick will turn up in Birmingham?

Might it be the Caddick who gets stuck into opponents and, having taken an early wicket, is almost impossible to shake off ?

Or will England find their attack led by that pale imitation of a strike bowler whose performance at Lord's during the drawn First npower Test was even flatter than the pitch he had to operate on?

If the selectors, who announce their squad tomorrow morning, could be confident of having a Mark I Caddick in attendance at Edgbaston then picking a supporting cast would be a lot easier.

As it is, they can only hope for the best from their Somerset seamer while working on the basis that a five-man attack will provide captain Nasser Hussain with the sort of insurance he lacked at Lord's once Caddick and Matthew Hoggard were struggling.

Even given the unpredictabilityof Edgbaston pitches, seven batsmen - including wicketkeeper Alec Stewart and allrounder Andrew Flintoff - ought to be enough come next Thursday.

And, taking into account the strength of Sri Lanka's top order and the continuing absence of natural attack leader Darren Gough, five bowlers will be essential.

England have played a full hand of bowlers at Edgbaston more often that not in recent years, and always included a spinner in the starting line-up.

Consequently, Ashley Giles ought to play on his home ground next week while Alex Tudor should survive the cut after being made 12th man at Lord's.

Much of the talk before the First Test concerned Ian Bell, the highly-regarded young Warwickshire batsman.

England decided, though, the time was not quite right for him and they may come to a similar conclusion now regarding another good prospect.

Simon Jones, the 23-year-old Glamorgan fast bowler, has the sort of pace Hussain would love to have at his disposal.

But speed alone will seldom trouble Sri Lanka's rungetters, as they suggested at Cardiff yesterday when his first 16 wicketless overs cost 67 runs.

Jones could make tomorrow's squad, especially if Dominic Cork fails to recover from a groin injury sustained at Lord's. If he does get the call, though, it is likely to be so that England's top brass can have a closer look at him during the Edgbaston build-up rather than in the match itself.

Probable squad: M Trescothick, M Vaughan, M Butcher, N Hussain (capt), G Thorpe, J Crawley, A Stewart (wkt), A Flintoff, A Tudor, A Giles, D Cork or S Jones, A Caddick, M Hoggard.