But on Saturday England’s selectors postponed their announcement of the squad for the first Test against West Indies, starting on May 6 at Lord’s, until Wednesday week.

This minor event can be interpreted as the first sign of the new coach or team director, Andy Flower, at work. Geoff Miller, the chairman of selectors, made the statement: "The selectors have met but have decided that we need more time to assess players who are returning after injury. By delaying the selection… it allowed us the opportunity to see another round of championship matches." But the steely determined, yet cautious, hand of Flower was all over it.

Flower had no say in the selection of England’s party to the West Indies, either the Test or one-day squad, because Peter Moores was in charge when those selections – not entirely correct – were made. So when Flower met at the Oval on Friday with the captain Andrew Strauss, back from his week’s holiday, and the other England selectors, he was not going to be rushed this time. There was no need to select the first Test squad – expanded or not - over a fortnight before the match. So he didn’t.

England have two main bowling concerns and one batting. Their bowling concerns are the first spinner and fourth seamer. Graeme Swann is now the first-choice spinner: the West Indian specialist batting is predominantly lefthanded, and so will Australia’s be. Of Swann’s 19 Test wickets in the Caribbean, 13 were lefthanders.

Since then Swann has had an operation to remove bone fragments from his right elbow. He now hopes to play in Nottinghamshire’s opening championship match this week but it might be too soon. In this case he could either play in the England Lions four-day game against the West Indians at Derby, starting on Thursday 30 April, or in Nottinghamshire’s second championship game which runs almost simultaneously at Old Trafford.

As for England’s fourth pace bowler in the two-Test series against West Indies, the two Andrews want a dressing-room full of players who are earnest, self-critical, mentally tough and keen to improve: and not all of those boxes are ticked by Steve Harmison. He will surely have his uses this summer, primarily in the second of back-to-back Ashes Tests when he can be brought in at short notice and expectation is low. But not perhaps as a tone-setter.

To supplement James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Andrew Flintoff – England’s Test players in the IPL are due back on May 1 – Ryan Sidebottom must be favourite if, after his Achilles heel injury, he can crank his speed back up to the mid-80 miles per hour: hence the need to wait for another round of Nottinghamshire’s championship matches.

Swing however is not the tempting Ashes option for England that it used to be at the end of last year. Then Australia’s pace attack was Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Peter Siddle - pretty gun-barrel straight – and the temptation would have been for England to use balls that swing. Since then Mitchell Johnson has started to swing new balls and his opening partner is now Ben Hilfenhaus, a sharp and consistent outswinger. Anything that Anderson and Sidebottom can bowl, so can Australia’s pair, but a souped-up Sidebottom would also be economical – and create rough for Swann to bowl into.

England’s batting concern is their number three: since Michael Vaughan’s century last May at Lord’s, he, Ian Bell and Owais Shah have contributed a highest score of 57 from that position. We can assume Bell and Vaughan are the main candidates, although Ravi Bopara – given several public accolades by Flower – is likely to be the long-term answer, once he has consolidated himself in the middle-order.

Vaughan could be named in the England Lions squad on Monday: Strauss was struggling in 2007 but made 80 for the Lions against the Indians just before the first Test and scored 96 in it.