Meaker latest in rich vein of seamers

Stuart Meaker yesterday became the latest addition to England's plentiful fast-bowling stocks. He will be one of five seamers in the party of 15 which leaves on Monday for the one-day tour of India and has been given his opportunity because Stuart Broad is injured and Jimmy Anderson is rested.

For a year or so, word has spread about Meaker's raw speed and he took 44 Championship wickets for Surrey last season as they were promoted from the Second Division. If his selection for England was something of a surprise it was probably because he featured so little in one-day cricket.

Meaker, 22, played in only three CB40 matches and was not in the wining final team at Lord's. But England clearly liked the look of him when he played for England Lions against Sri Lanka A last month.

He will be one of five members of the squad born in South Africa. Meaker was educated at Cranleigh School, the alma mater of the cricket writer EW Swanton. In a recent entry in The Cricketers' Who's Who he ventured the opinion, "Stick with local players, no need for Kolpaks," of which Swanton would doubtless have approved.