By Paul Grunill

It has become an annual custom for me to pick half a dozen players who I think it is worth everyone keeping an eye on during the summer ahead.

The selection criteria ('criteria' makes my choices sound authoritative - although 'guess' might be a more accurate word) involves picking three promising players from around the county circuit, one each from the two touring sides - in 2007 it's West Indies and India - and a member of the England women's team.

Like Wisden, players chosen in previous years cannot reappear. So here goes nothing....

The inability of Geraint Jones and Chris Read to contribute much in terms of runs to England's Ashes campaign means there could soon be a vacancy in the Test side.

The selectors have already signalled their intent by summoning veteran Paul Nixon into the one-day set-up, but the long-term bet is 20-year-old keeper/batsman Davies.

He made over 1,000 Championship runs for Worcestershire last summer, including three centuries, and is spending the winter honing his skills with the Academy squad.

England will not want to rush Davies - it didn't work with James Foster when he toured Australia in 2002-03 - but another good summer at county level could see him make the squad for next winter's tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

The warning 'Don't rush' could equally well be applied to Yorkshire's Adil Rashid.

But any England-qualified leg-spinner who shows signs of genuine quality is bound to have the selectors making a beeline for the motorway to take a closer look.

Still only 18, Rashid took 25 wickets in five Championship appearances in 2006 as he and fellow leggie Mark Lawson helped preserve Yorkshire's Division one status.

Rashid can bat as well, as shown by his 114 for England U19s against India at Taunton, but he needs to be handled with care especially after a stress fracture in his back forced him to rest for the first half of the winter.

Most of the 2006 campaign was a huge disappointment for Middlesex, who were relegated in both the Championship and NatWest Pro40.

One player who caught the eye in the four-day format, however, was batsman Nick Compton, who was their leading run-scorer with 1,207, including five centuries.

It would be unfair to burden the 23-year-old former Harrow schoolboy by comparing him with his grandfather, the late, great Denis Compton, so I won't.

But he now faces the challenge of continuing to score prolifically and thereby establish international credentials of his own, having played in the Under-19 World Cup of 2002.

West Indies have been looking for a fast bowler capable of leading their attack since the retirement of Courtney Walsh almost six years ago.

Jermaine Lawson's progress was hampered by injury and doubts about the legality of his action and Fidel Edwards and Tino Best have so far lacked the consistency needed for sustained success in Test cricket.

Now, however, West Indies appear to have unearthed the genuine article in 22-year-old Taylor, who bowls in the high 80s mph and also believes in bowling straight with the old fashioned policy of 'they miss, I hit'.

Back problems which dogged him after his initial entry into Test cricket appear to have been cured and he will be looking to help West Indies atone for their 4-0 whitewash defeat in England in 2004.

Sreesanth isn't just a highly promising new ball bowler, he's a born entertainer as well.

There aren't too many cricketers with the self-confidence to dance down the pitch after hitting South Africa's Andre Nel for six and twirl their bat towards him in celebration but that's exactly what Sreesanth did in Johannesburg recently.

More importantly, however, he beat South Africa at their own game by taking eight wickets on a pitch prepared for their seamers, moving the ball both ways and running in with seemingly boundless energy.

It will be interesting to see whether he can repeat that kind of performance in English conditions, but whether he's among the wickets or not, Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and co will certainly know he's there.

The next Women's World Cup does not take place until 2009 but the England selectors have already set in progress an evolutionary process which they hope will sustain the progress shown by the team in the past two or three years.

One of their brightest hopes is feisty 17-year-old Taylor, a Brighton College protege of former England skipper Clare Connor.

She made her senior debut against India last summer and demonstrated her potential with scores of 40 and 61 during the one-day series. "She hits the ball like a man" was the verdict of one impressed coach.

Taylor, who also shared the wicket-keeping duties with long-serving Jane Smit, has plenty of self-belief and an inner determination which should serve England well for many years to come.