After hearing about the selection of fast bowler Richard Johnson for England, Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me, "Of course we are very pleased for him, particularly after the disappointment of being called up for the match at Trent Bridge and then not playing.We hope he plays in this match, it's an honour for him and the club if he does."

He went on, "England's gain is our loss, but as I've said before we have got a professional staff, and as one door closes another opens and there are opportunities for our younger players."

If Johnson does play in the last two tests it will probably mean that he will not be available until September for Somerset.

The Chief Executive continued, "Duncan Fletcher has control over Johnson for a few days leading up to, and during the test matches. We have three County Championship matches in September, and as he is not centrally contracted we would expect him to be available to play in those."

A number of supporters have been querying why Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick did not play in the home County Championship match against Leicestershire recently, whilst several of the Surrey players did appear for their county.

Mr Anderson said, "Surrey have a number of England players who are not centrally contracted, so that is why they played for their county last week. We have always argued that contracted players availability should be decided individually rather than on a blanket basis.

Duncan Fletcher decided that he wanted both of our boys rested from the Leicestershire match and we should take this as a compliment that he feels that they are important cogs in his machine."

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