The alternative course was to include Ronnie Irani as the balancing figure at No 6, with Russell continuing as wicketkeeper. Russell will have been assured of his place on tour and I hope both Irani and the injured Mark Ealham will find places in the party to Zimbabwe and New Zea- land, but there can be no doubt that Stewart's skill behind the stumps offered the best solution this time.
It means that England have retained the six batsmen who did so well at Leeds. Nick Knight would open in Stewart's place if Mike Atherton were to lose the toss and he were to be tired after a long stint in the field, but the chances are that in those circumstances the objective of victo- ry might have gone anyway.
In order to win, the combination of six successful batsmen and five bowlers is the best hope. It now becomes a question of whether the strategists will hold their nerve and choose both their spinners plus three fast bowlers, leav- ing out either Alan Mullally or, more likely, Chris Lewis.
By retaining Lewis ahead of Darren Gough, who might have swayed the issue his way with a more convincing performance during Yorkshire's defeat at Bristol, the selectors have shown great faith in the former's natural ability, the fact that he should achieve awkward bounce if he bowls the proper length on his home pitch and perhaps in his tenden- cy to perform when the public are starting to tire of his inconsistency.
After a good series against India he has fallen away, but whether or not he plays at the Oval this is a sign that Gough, Dean Headley and others will have to bowl well in the next month to deprive him of a tour place. Equally I hope, so will Lewis.
The circuit buzz is that Peter Such is probably a fraction ahead of him still as the best off-spinner in the country but Croft is both younger and a better all-round crick- eter.
Croft's promotion as the complementary spinner that Salisbury needs if his power of spin is to be utilised to the full on a hard pitch will be the cause of great rejoicing in Wales. He is 26 and maturing like a good wine. His has been a long apprenticeship - he first played for Glamorgan in 1989 and the first of his two A tours was as long ago as 1991/2.
The circuit buzz is that Peter Such is probably a fraction ahead of him still as the best off-spinner in the country but Croft is both younger and a better all-round crick- eter. Only in Essex and Warwickshire, where Neil Smith is starting to produce some telling performances again as the pitches dry, will there be dismay that Croft has won favour. There will be similar feelings in the Middlesex and Worcestersire camps that Phil Tufnell or Richard Illingworth should have been preferred to Salisbury.
Even at the Oval, and certainly at Bristol, it will be wondered if too much is being asked again of Stewart, but we shall see. The evidence that he bats more effec- tively when he does not have to keep wicket too is irrefutable - he averages 45 for England when not 'keeping; 25 otherwise - but the short-term solution worked at the Oval when England beat the West Indies in 1991 and Australia in 1993.
Steve Rhodes was behind the stumps there in the win against South Africa in 1994, Russell back in residence last year in the draw against the West Indies. He made 91, but the pitch then was slower than usual and groundsman Paul Brind is confident of a bouncier surface this time. It was drenched in a storm last Sunday, but should harden out well in the sunshine expected in the next few days.
Russell is not so good a wicket-keeper as Evans, Knott and Taylor, the other England players who have claimed more than 150 victims, but only Knott was a more effective batsman. Godfrey Evans played most of his cricket with Tre- vor Bailey, Alan Knott with Tony Greig, Bob Taylor with Ian Botham. It is Russell's ill-fortune that there is no comparable all-rounder at the moment, but perhaps the winter's cricket will ease the problem at last.