Dimitri Mascarenhas of Hampshire finally gets an England call-up

We're not someone who claims to have a history of being right about stuff. Not unless consistently pronouncing the letter H correctly adds up to as much. But either way, we think the selection of Dimitri Mascarenhas for the England one-day squad is a masterstroke.

Dimitri Mascarenhas has been one of the very finest one-day players in county cricket for bloody years now. His one-day bowling record stands up to anybody's. His average is 24 and he concedes runs at about four an over - which is good these days (Ian 'Fatty' Austin would have wept into his meat and potato pie if he'd conceded that many).

Dimitri Mascarenhas is 29. You might think that's a bit old for a bowler if you're building towards the next World Cup, but that's the best part. Dimitri Mascarenhas is a bowler who attracts terms like 'canny' and 'wily'. We dare say he varies his pace, but his range starts at 70mph and descends from there. Loss of pace isn't really going to be an issue. Loss of pace isn't really possible.

In addition to this, he's a handy middle to lower order batsman - something that England have been crying out for - and he's a razor sharp fielder.