England cut the flab

In the space of a week, England have unveiled three separate squads for three different forms of the game, with one over-riding agenda to be pursued - the purging of flab, in whatever form it might appear.

There's physical flab, of course, as epitomised by Samit Patel, England's highest-profile bloater since Jimmy Ormond was cast into the wilderness by Duncan Fletcher seven long years ago. Then as now, the message being sent out by a relatively new regime is unequivocal - shape up or ship out - and Geoff Miller, the national selector, wasn't far short of his best after-dinner-speaking form as he catalogued the crimes against treadmills that have caused Patel's second squad omission in as many months.

But in the spotlight of international cricket, flabbiness comes in all manner of guises, and while Patel's humiliation is unlikely to be matched, he is not the only man who was considered by the selectors to be carrying excess baggage. Just as Tuesday's Test squad has a lean and hungry look about it, so the 15 men chosen for the ICC World Twenty20 line up as if subjected to a centrally sanctioned lipoplasty.

For mental flab has been an issue of arguably even greater concern to Andy Flower, the newly installed coach who continues to astonish those same squad members who had dismissed him as a wallflower during his two-year apprenticeship under Peter Moores. Physical baggage can come and go, but as the arrested development of far too many regulars in England's recent squads would testify, correcting defects up top remains a far more arduous challenge.

To that end, the continued omission of Ian Bell (aside from a mollifying call-up for three ODIs against West Indies) is a ferocious statement of intent. As a player, Flower did not suffer weaklings gladly. According to his Zimbabwe team-mate, Henry Olonga, he found it tough to accept players who could not summon up the same levels of fitness and fortitude that he brought to his own performances. And so, while Bell's tireless sessions of boxing on the beaches of the Caribbean may have proved something of a point to the new regime, he has not yet been able to respond to his most damning criticism.

And then, of course, there is technical flabbiness - which is the crime that England's wicketkeeper Matt Prior, for all his batting success against West Indies, has been unable to shake off for the duration of his international career. At the time, it was hard to comprehend why he had been dropped in the Caribbean in favour of Worcestershire's Steven Davies, especially when he was instantly recalled for the subsequent one-dayers, but now with the recall of Essex's James Foster, the reasoning becomes rather clearer.

"Foster's selection is about the pressure you put on as a wicketkeeper behind the stumps," explained Miller. "His glovework is impeccable, and [by standing up] he creates a new kind of pressure for our bowlers, a lot of whom take the pace off the ball. And he's improved his lower-order batting as well."

Belatedly, but in a very welcome development, England have realised the value of a top-notch gloveman in such a high-octane version of the game. With doubts about the fitness not only of Andrew Flintoff but also Ryan Sidebottom, England's hopes in the tournament may be carried by slower alternatives - Dimitri Mascarenhas, Graeme Swann, and Kevin Pietersen, who found himself opening the bowling for Bangalore earlier this week. "It's about being inventive and creative," said Miller. "Twenty20 and 50-over cricket are completely different games."

To their partial credit, England did realise that fact in time for the inaugural World Twenty20 in September 2007, but on that occasion they lacked the courage of their convictions in their attempts to break the mould. The call-up of domestic specialists such as Darren Maddy, Chris Schofield, James Kirtley and Jeremy Snape, the likes of whom had bossed the Twenty20 Cup since its maiden season in 2003, backfired when they were found out against international class opposition, and England - true to their form in global competitions - crashed out at the earliest available stage.

Hence the inclusion of flexible and - to use Miller's buzzword - inventive cricketers such as the Irishman Eoin Morgan and Essex's IPL pick Graham Napier. "We've not done particularly well at Twenty20 cricket, that's the reason [for these selections]," said Miller. "We've seen who we think are specialists, but can they take their domestic form into international cricket? That's always the tough question. It didn't work last time, but I'm happy with this squad. I like to think they will be good enough to transfer from domestic cricket to internationals."

Paul Collingwood's reappointment as captain, less than a year after he jacked in a job he believed was ruining his career, is arguably the only backward step in a squad that is thrusting forwards in all other departments. Whereas Owais Shah was punished (in Test cricket at least) for choosing the IPL as his priority, Collingwood's time with the Delhi Daredevils has been held up by Miller as vital education, even though he didn't manage to get a single game during his stint in South Africa.

"A lot of people have given up the captaincy and come back much wiser and stronger," said Miller, as he justified a decision that was borne of necessity, despite the inclusion of another strong candidate for the role, Kent's highly regarded leader, Robert Key. "I know what qualities he's got from an England point of view."

Collingwood himself took some persuasion from Flower to reclaim a role that, by his own admission, he found "draining". He suffered a four-match ban for slow over-rates, having come close to bringing the game into disrepute following an ill-judged appeal for a run-out against a prostrate New Zealand batsman, Grant Elliott, and also endured a run-in with one of the red-tops after a night out in Durban during the World Twenty20. There was plenty that was flabby about Collingwood's last incarnation as England captain, but if he too has shed that baggage, his lean and mean team will doubtless be well served.