"That would be going in at the deep end." Silverwood grinned: "I'll take that. "It's up to the players," Illy kept saying at yesterday's press conference, "to show what they can do." But how can you show a big-match temperament if you're not even in the second XI?Tim de Lisle is editor of 'Wisden Cricket Monthly'. Chris Silverwood was posing with his silver statuette, a replica of F S Trueman, at a London hotel last Friday, signifying his election as Young Cricketer of the Year. I asked him how much he was looking forward to the "A" tour of Australia "If selected, terrific. The A team makes no sense if it is not used as a pipeline.Which is not to say it shouldn't also be a rehabilitation centre. On the plus side, room has been found for Peter Such; but this is heavily outweighed by the omission of Mark Ramprakash. Hollioake will probably be a good captain of the A team, but little will be learnt about him in the process; whereas there was a wonderful opportunity to see if Ramprakash could be this year's Hussain.

But if the last place had to go to another English- type seamer, it should have been Glen Chapple or Dean Headley, who have both had good A tours, while Silverwood slotted in below them. Devon Malcolm, as the County Championship has shown, can provide it Perhaps Illy can be forgiven for not being that forgiving. He's an attractive choice for the same reasons as Shah, and you could argue that Illy is entitled to one last gamble But there's no such thing as a free hunch. The price to be paid here is that England will have no one who can hurry the opposition What the attack lacked this summer was edge.