Not until the announcement of the party which leaves today for 10 weeks in Kenya and Sri Lanka, however, has it been so obvious that A tours are now an essential middle rung on the ladder between national youth teams and the full Test side.
Ten of the players leaving Gatwick for Nairobi this evening are under the age of 21, and half of the 16 players have been promoted from the under-19 teams, who went abroad in the last two winters.
This time, indeed, two members of the A team, Owais Shah of Middlesex and Jonathan Powell of Essex, will be joining their colleagues late because they are currently in South Africa with the under-19 team, who will shortly be taking part in the Youth World Cup.
The recent achievements of Matthew Fleming, plucked from county cricket to be a national hero at the ripe cricketing age of 33, should give hope to the current 'artisans' of county cricket that all is not necessarily lost.
The clear message, however, from David Graveney, Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting, the triumvirate of Gs who plan England strategy in conjunction with the senior coach David Lloyd, is that the policy is to spot talent early and give it a fast track to the top.
In this case the scheme is not without risk. The four matches against Kenya, with which the tour starts - one game of three days, the other three limited-overs - should at least be evenly contested, for all the triumph of the Kenyans against the West Indies in the last World Cup.
The challenge which follows in Sri Lanka, including three four-day 'Tests' and three one-day international matches will really test the mettle of a group of talented but callow players.
The enticing prospect for those who do well is possible selection for the national team soon. Three of last year's A side to Australia - Mark Butcher, Dean Headley and Adam Hollioake - are about to embark on their first senior tour.
Gatting said yesterday: ``This time we are probably looking three or four years down the line.'' He was speaking as coach to this touring team, with Gooch ostensibly as manager, although in practice they will no doubt operate as a double act.
Four of their team have Test experience - the captain Nick Knight, the Yorkshire fast-bowler Chris Silverwood and the all-rounders Mark Ealham and Ben Hollioake.
Each of them has a good chance of playing Test cricket again and no doubt each harbours dreams of finding his way to the West Indies before next April. Ashley Giles and Steve James, the steadiest batsman in Britain over the last two seasons, are the others who have a place in the national team in their sights already.
James, who will be Knight's vice-captain, has just signed a new three-year contract with Glamorgan and if he bats overseas in the same calm, well organised manner that he has in scoring 14 first-class hundreds in the last two seasons, he will be the first to be summoned should any batsman break a bone in the Caribbean.
For the remainder of the players, eight weeks in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka should prove a valuable experience. They will find eager, wristy players, whose staple cricketing diet is spin-bowling and who generally obey the basic technical rules: bowl straight and play straight.
Details:
ENGLAND A PARTY: *N V Knight (Warwicks), S P James (Glamorgan), D Maddy (Leics), A Flintoff (Lancs), D J Sales (Northants), O A Shah (Middlesex), B C Hollioake (Surrey), M A Ealham (Kent), -C M W Read (Gloucs), -D C Nash (Middlesex), C E W Silverwood (Yorks), P M Hutchison (Yorks), J Ormond (Leics), A P Giles (Warwicks), D A Cosker (Glamorgan), J C Powell (Essex).
ITINERARY
KENYA.-Jan 3: Kenya (Nairobi, one day). Jan 4: Kenya (Nairobi, one day). Jan 6-8: Kenya (Rurarka). Jan 10: Kenya (Nairobi, one day).
SRI LANKA.-Jan 17: tbc (Colombo, one day). 19-21: tbc (Colombo). 24-27: tbc (Colombo).
Jan 30-Feb 2: Sri Lanka A (Kurunegela, first 'Test'). Feb 6-9: Sri Lanka A (Kandy, second 'Test'). 13-16: tbc (Moratuwa). 19-22: Sri Lanka A (Matara, third Test). 25: tbc (Matara, one day). 27: Sri Lanka A (Galle, one day).
March 1: Sri Lanka A (Colombo, one day). March 3: Sri Lanka A (Colombo, one day).