Yorkshire offspinner Richard Dawson has been called up for the England senior tour after only eight first-class matches, seven of them this year. To date he has taken 29 wickets at an average of 32.06, with a best performance of 6 for 82 in the Championship-clincher against Glamorgan at Scarborough. Essex wicketkeeper Jamie Foster isn't much dryer behind the ears: he's played only 18 first-class matches, three of them this year for Durham University's Centre of Excellence. He hit his only century, 103, for them against Worcestershire in May. But he has continued that useful batting form with Essex, and has 591 runs to his name this season at an average of 28.14, to go with 29 catches and seven stumpings. Foster will be hoping for a longer England career than Chris Read, who had played only a handful of games himself when called up as England's youngest wicketkeeper of the 20th century for the first Test against New Zealand in 1999. Foster, who is yet to complete his studies, is the first undergraduate wicketkeeper to be called up for an England tour since Paul Downton in 1977-78, and could become the first undergrad to play for England since Derek Pringle in 1982.

Mark Ramprakash is the second-oldest member of England's one-day squad – only Nasser Hussain is older – but he hasn't had that much ODI experience. Since his debut, against West Indies at Old Trafford in 1991, he's played only 13 matches. England have played 143 ODIs in that time, 58 of them since Ramps's last appearance, against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1997-98 – when he hit 51, his one and only one-day fifty for England.

Essex allrounder Paul Grayson, another member of the one-day squad, has a chance to improve on a miserable ODI record. Called up at short notice in 2000-01 for the ICC Knockout tournament in Kenya, he was dismissed by the only ball he faced in his only match, and bowled five overs for 20 without taking a wicket.

Lancashire wicketkeeper Warren Hegg is the oldest man called up by England this winter. At 33 he's a month older than Nasser Hussain. Hegg's previous two Tests came at the end of the 1998-99 tour of Australia. He took four catches in each game.

The inclusion of Richard Dawson for the senior tour and Steve Kirby in the Academy side brings to eight the number of current Yorkshire bowlers who have been called up by the England selectors. Darren Gough, Chris Silverwood, Craig White, Matthew Hoggard, Gavin Hamilton and Ryan Sidebottom have all played Tests, while Paul Hutchison (who has just been released by Yorkshire) went on an England A tour.

Sussex fast bowler James Kirtley, who has been chosen for the one-dayers in Zimbabwe, first came to wide attention out there in 1996-97, when he was coaching and playing in Mashonaland. He took 5 for 53 and 2 for 35 as Mashonaland won the first match of England's tour, and was asked to stand by for the first Test as some senior bowlers were struggling with injuries. Kirtley's bowling action has been the subject of comment, but it was cleared by the ECB earlier this year.

None of the four specialist fast bowlers chosen for the one-day series in Zimbabwe has played an ODI. Of the faster men only Craig White and Ben Hollioake have appeared in ODIs before. Matthew Hoggard has played two Tests, Jimmy Ormond and Ryan Sidebottom one apiece, and James Kirtley none.

Jeremy Snape, the Gloucestershire allrounder, is in line to become only the second Jeremy to play international cricket, after the former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney. We're counting West Indies fast bowler Kerry Jeremy's Jeremy as a surname.

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