BBC Sport looks at the form of England's Test hopefuls after a week of competitive county action.
GOOD WEEK
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Out of form for much of the winter, Anderson took just two wickets against Somerset in the Championship but did enough to impress England bowling coach Troy Cooley.
A fast and accurate opening spell on day two brought him figures of 11-7-11-1, including four successive maidens.
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Having celebrated his 23rd birthday earlier in the week, Bell was denied the chance to celebrate a century when Glamorgan's Robert Croft trapped him lbw for 96.
"If he keeps racking up hundreds like he did last season it will not be long before he is in that Test side, whether he starts in it this summer or not," said team-mate Michael Powell.
Bell also took three wickets in nine deliveries without conceding a run on a gloomy third day, his medium pace prospering thanks to some poor batting.
Ashley Giles (Warwickshire)
No England player started the season better than the left-arm spinner, who took match figures of 9-129 in his first Championship appearance for almost a year.
The first innings, on the first day of Warwickshire's Championship defence, was the best as he took 6-44, running through the Glamorgan tail.
Steve Harmison (Durham)
The pace bowler was overshadowed by opening partner Liam Plunkett in the first innings of Durham's Championship opener, going wicketless while the youngster took five.
But he joined the fun after Leicestershire had been forced to follow-on, taking 4-30, including a devastating spell of three wickets in 15 balls without conceding a run.
Simon Jones (Glamorgan)
Pitted against the batting of champions Warwickshire, Jones led his side's bowlers despite only returning figures of 3-121.
But he was more impressive on Sunday, taking 3-17 in his opening spell against Lancashire and displaying much-improved control.
Graham Thorpe (Surrey)
Several of his team-mates posted more gaudy numbers in a rain-hit draw against Sussex but Thorpe impressed with a 112-ball 59.
Eight crisp boundaries helped quell claims his eyes are not as good as he approaches his 36th birthday.
However, the left-hander was dismissed for a duck in Sunday's loss to Yorkshire.
BAD WEEK
Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire)
Yorkshire suffered against Essex, and Hoggard did too, managing just two wickets in the only innings the Tykes were afforded at Chelmsford.
The opening bowler at least dismissed Mark Ramprakash and Rikki Clarke in a high-scoring Sunday victory over Surrey.
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset)
After admitting that migraines have been affecting his training, Somerset's stand-in captain managed just 11 in his first Championship innings.
He was in more sprightly form in the second innings against Lancashire, making 22 in a run chase that was aborted when he was dismissed.
Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
The star of England's one-day series in South Africa missed his new county's opening Championship match with a stress fracture in his left foot.
It says much of his increasing stature that Hampshire checked with the England and Wales Cricket Board before leaving him out.
A much-anticipated debut came on Sunday, but he lasted just 14 balls before he was bowled for five, playing across the line to left-arm spinner Tim Phlllips.
ON THE SIDELINES
Mark Butcher (Surrey)
The new county captain could be seen mooching around the Brit Oval pavilion as his side played Sussex but also took to the nets to test his recovery from a wrist injury.
He expects to be fit early in May, which could give him two matches to push for a Test place against Bangladesh.
Rob Key (Kent)
One of the candidates for England's number three spot, Key was allowed to miss Kent's meeting with Cardiff UCCE, by agreement with the ECB.
He did get to the crease on Sunday but had only faced 16 balls, scoring a single, when rain ruined the match against Derbyshire.
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
Flintoff (right) has been gaining fitness by hill-walking
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England's star all-rounder hit a century in an intra-squad game for Lancashire before the start of the season but it yet to play competitively after undergoing ankle surgery.
He has been rehabilitating by hill walking - although he caught flu after a day on Rivington Pike, near Bolton, last week - and has also been warm-weather training in Spain.
He will to play solely as a batsman in the near future but told a TV interviewer on Sunday he expects it to be a while yet before he is bowling in the middle.
Geraint Jones (Kent)
Promoted to opener in Kent's rain-ruined match against Cardiff UCCE, Jones made 34 on a poor wicket.
And had just begun batting at Derby on Sunday when the heavens opened again.
Andrew Strauss (Middlesex)
With his county idle in the first week of Championship matches, Strauss was allowed to play in Sunday's Totesport League game against Notts.
But he was still waiting to bat when rain closed in, giving the Crusaders the match.
Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire)
England's captain has been given extra rest under the terms of his central contract.
He will not play until 3 May, when Yorkshire make a potentially tricky visit to Belfast to face Ireland in the C&G Trophy.
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