mvaughan

I said before the first ODI that I thought England looked a good side on paper. They have an aggressive opener in Craig Kieswetter, a devastating match-winner in Kevin Pietersen, a resourceful finisher (Eoin Morgan), a world class spinner (Graeme Swann) and in the form of Jimmy Anderson a seam bowler who can exploit swinging conditions. That's the backbone for a very capable ODI team.

But that's not to say that the 11 we saw play on Tuesday will necessarily be mainstays in the team over the next couple of years, or even for the remainder of the summer. Just ask Paul Collingwood. For so many years he was virtually the first name on the team-sheet and right now he's out of the selectors' thoughts altogether. Injuries and loss of form mean changes are common in modern-day cricket and the busy schedules mean that we also have incidences of players being rested ahead of a certain series or tournament.

Luckily for England there are some promising youngsters waiting in the wings for their chances. I don't mean guys like Ravi Bopara or Samit Patel. We already know what they can do on their day.

Jade Dernbach made his debut the other day and the Surrey man showed he's got something that England haven't really had much of over the last few years: raw pace. We've seen how destructive real speedsters like Dale Steyn and Brett Lee can be at the start of an innings with the new ball in their hands and it offers another dimension to England's bowling attack.

I've heard great things about Ben Stokes over at Durham. He's an orthodox left-handed batsman who plays a vast array of shots and can score very quickly. He also bowls and regularly reaches 80-85mph so that's certainly another string to his bow. I think it's only really a question of time before he gets an England call-up to either the T20 or ODI side. Similar story with James Hildreth of Somerset, who has gained a big reputation on the County circuit as a big-hitting all-rounder.

Of course making the transition from County star to established international cricketer isn't always easy. It was absolutely effortless for someone like Marcus Trescothick but not everyone has been able to cope with the extra pressure. I'm not going to go naming guys who couldn't hack it but cricket fans will know of a few.

Multiple TV cameras at every ground, capacity crowds, the scrutiny of the TV commentators and other sections of the media. One day it's only really the County cricket faithful who know who you are, the next everyone is talking about your technique, questioning your strike rate or shaking their heads at why the selectors gave you the nod over someone else. Whether you make it or not at the highest level is almost always down to whether you've got the right mental attitude to cope with it all. Do you have the belief that you can make it, can you handle the criticism in the right way and can you perform under pressure when your team needs you? That, rather than technique or conditioning is the difference between those who cut the mustard on the international stage and those who don't.


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