Stewart will be 40 at the next World Cup

By the time of the next World Cup, Alec Stewart will be a month shy of his 40th birthday, Graeme Hick will be 36, Andy Caddick and Nasser Hussain 34, Thorpe 33 and Alan Mullally 33, and Darren Gough and Robert Croft 32.

Of the others in the current one-day squad not used in the first two matches, Nick Knight will be 33 and Mark Alleyne 34.

Admittedly, some of the above are fitter than others many years younger than them (Stewart, Hick and Knight, in particular), and two years from now will still be among the most effective players in their field.

But some will not - and even considering the performances of those who are, what will happen after 2003? That surely will that for most of them.

Everything points to the need for England to introduce possible alternatives into the one-day side, starting with the triangular tournament with Pakistan and Australia this summer.

So what are the options?

Opening batsmen

At 26, Marcus Trescothick should have a long international future ahead of him, but possible partners for him are Ian Ward, of Surrey, who was the best batsman on the recent A tour, and Andrew Strauss, of Middlesex.

Ward is perhaps better suited to the longer game, but Strauss, 24, is a South African-born left-hander blessed with rare timing and a sound technique.

Middle order batsmen

Were it not for the fact that he suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for most - if not all - of the season, David Sales would have been a strong candidate for promotion.

Solanki's batting is full of flair

Other choices for the middle order are Vikram Solanki, Aftab Habib and Michael Powell (of Warwickshire), all A tourists this winter.

Solanki has the most flair, though Powell made most of his opportunities in the Caribbean when he was called upon to replace Sales.

Another option would be Ian Bell, the captain of the Under-19s who replaced Habib midway through the A tour, although for now his style is more suited to four-day cricket.

Wicketkeeper

Paul Nixon is Stewart's most likely replacement at present, but by the next World Cup he will be 33.

A longer term option would be Essex's James Foster who has replaced Chris Read as the young hopeful.

Certainly Foster is a better batsman than Read - and, on the evidence offered so far, he has the better temperament for international cricket.

All-rounders

Paul Franks deserves another chance after a single one-day match last summer - remember he topped Nottinghamshire's batting and bowling averages in the National League, and Graeme Swann will be there or there abouts.

Franks got just one appearance last summer

But instead of going for Swann, who like Owais Shah, Steven Peters and Ben Hollioake, seems to have been done few favours by being selected for A tours on reputation rather than form, why not take a gamble on Ian Blackwell.

As a left-arm spinner, Blackwell opts for darts rather than flighted guile, but in the one-day game that can be very effective.

And as a left-hander, he is one of Somerset's most destructive batsmen. With his ability to clobber boundaries (sixes as well as fours) with the field spread back, he has been likened to Lance Klusener.

Bowlers

Gough and Caddick might be England's best opening pair for years, but until recently Gough talked about retiring as early as the end of this summer's Ashes series, and, temperamentally, Caddick could fall apart as quickly as he pulled himself together.

Hoggard topped the wickets in National League

In this area, England have two very good alternatives.

Matthew Hoggard (25) seems to have done well every time he been asked to bowl for England in tour matches, and last summer he took 37 National League wickets at 12 (more than any other bowler in the country).

And, fitness permitting, Chris Silverwood (26) is a proven commodity.

Furthermore, Alex Tudor is still only 24 and on South African pitches could be effective with both bat (possibly as a pinch-hitter?) and ball.

If one of these three fail, there is always Steve Harmison, 23, although here, as with Tudor, the injuries worries are very real.

And if the hype in Cardiff about Simon Jones in only half true, there is a young bowler in Wales who, once he gets his fitness and rhythm right, will put the wind up many a batsman.

Matt Bulbeck and Ryan Sidebottom, who should slug it out for the mantle of best young left-arm seamer over the coming years, complete the picture.

There is no shortage of choice.