Solve England's keeper dilemma

James Foster may not be up to the task, Alec Stewart may be too old, and Marcus Trescothick may not want the job.

Could you solve England's keeper dilemma before next year's World Cup?

Essex keeper Foster has taken the blame for seven missed catches in six matches since New Year and he has a top one-day score of 13.

Enter Trescothick for the second one-day international in Wellington: belligerent opening batsman, tidy with the gloves, but adamant he is just filling in behind the stumps.

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Stewart is sitting at home with his feet up and wondering whether he might be sent an SOS before next year's World Cup.

With few obvious alternatives available, who do you rate as England's best option?

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England's poor one-day performances have little to do with poor wicket keeping and a lot to do with poor batting by their middle and lower order. In one day cricket a side needs to bat down to nine.

England could start improving things by moving Thorpe up to number three and bringing back Hick for the one-day games. Remember how variable Fairbrother was for England in one dayers dispite being a failure in tests.
Mike, New Zealand

Foster has a lot to learn, everyone admits that he is still technically deficient as keeper and is no front line batsmen. So we put him straight into the England side, no "A" tours, no first class experience, no acadamy training? I think that we should look to youth, but not in a manner where you crucify the youngster before he has even started.
Nick, PNG

England have missed the boat by not selecting Warren Hegg

Sully, Lancashire, England

Picking Foster and saying that he is going to learn as he goes on is a bit stupid when you have so many other wicketkeepers in England who are capable to do the job. Other national teams bring in youngsters but they are good enough to be in the team. If England don't have a young quality keeper than they should pick Stewart.
Kiz, England

England have missed the boat by not selecting arguably the best one-day wicketkeeper in Warren Hegg. Hegg consistently scored runs for Lancashire and often dug them out of the mire or conjured up a match-winning knock. He's still only 34 so could step in for the World Cup.
Sully, Lancashire, England

For goodness sake let's stick with Foster. Just think back to the Packer episode when Australia were decimated and had to pick young and inexperienced. They stuck with Kim Hughes and even though the initial results were bad they built a good side. Why must we always be chopping and changing! Give the chap a decent chance.
Peter McKay, England

If you stick with Foster for a while he'll be a top class international keeper, something Trescothick will never be. Don't let's spoil Marcus' batting career like we did we did with Alec Stewart.

Foz is very talented, he simply needs more time

Gavin Capewell, England

A specialist keeper is essential and it's a disgrace that we left the best wicketkeeper in the world sitting at home through the 1990's while a specialist test opener toiled away at five or six. If we stick with Foster, we'll have no problem with the keeper slot till about 2115. If he gets a few runs that's a bonus.
Piers Tood, England

Foz is a very talented wicketkeeper and batsman. He simply needs more time. He only played a handful of first class games for Essex let alone England, so not suprisingly he is still raw. The lad was playing uni cricket at the racecourse not long ago. Believe me, he is the one!
Gavin Capewell, England

What is the point of fielding a team of players who have potential? Ask yourselves, who would you like to see walking in at 25 for four in a one-day match. Foster, Read, Turner, Hegg or Stewart? Let's be honest, all of us would prefer to see Stewart! If we are going to give someone 'experience' Test match cricket is the better forum - as you don't get knocked out if you lose!
Paul Connelly, UK

I think that everyone is being far too harsh towards James Foster. He has very little experience at the international level and as a young cricket fan I feel that youth needs to be nurtured.

Stewart has always performed for us and Trescothick is a good stand-in but we need a keeper that will not have to retire in a few years or complain that he doesn't want the job. Give the lad a break.
Ashley Ridler, Forest of Dean, England

Why blame Foster for the mess at Wellington - he didn't play!

Anne, England

I am delighted to hear that the majority of opinion is to stick with Foster. He showed great character in the second and third Test matches against India. As a wicketkeeper and coach myself, his problems appear to be with footwork. This is something Bob Taylor will quickly sort out.

James Foster has barely had a full season playing one-day cricket. Batting at number nine does not help either. Now is the time to experiment, give him an innings or two up the order.
David Wilkins, England

What about giving Warren Hegg another chance? Mind you, I think it's a bit early to drop Foster unless he really is unfit. Give the lad a chance. Why blame him for the mess at Wellington - he didn't play!!

As usual the England selectors chop and change every time there is a problem. Why not choose a team and stick with them? There will be bad days, but once a team is established there could also be a lot of good days.
Anne, England

I cannot believe that Chris Read hasn't been mentioned. He has already shown his qualities for England A and England, including runs with the bat. Give him a shot without pressure and I'm sure he'll perform.
Joel, UK, London

England should turn to Warren Hegg of Lancashire. Although he is now 34 he is still a quality player and with all that he has accomplished, deserves an extended chance with England. The likes of James Foster and the forgotten man Chris Read need a little more time to develop into England players. Warren Hegg is still in his prime and would do a good job for England I think.
David Fitzgerald, England

Has everyone dismissed the Notts' keeper Chris Read?

David Reavill, England

There is a brilliant Somerset keeper called Rob Turner, he's gone on England A tours all the time, and two years ago he played amazingly. The problem with selectors is that they prefer to stick with the old players rather than use new ones, so instead of blaming Foster blame the selectors and coaches and get them to pick with their heads and not pick what counties they play for.
Phillip M, England

Cut the guy some slack! Once he has the same amount of experience as Stewart (or dare I say Jack Russell - no doubt somebody will want him back!) he'll do just fine. Rome wasn't built in a day after all. It is good to have the option of Trescothick to keep, if the situation demands it. As soon as Foster properly sorts out his batting his confidence will grow in all areas of his game.
Phil, England

Has everyone dismissed the Notts' keeper Chris Read? He showed a lot of promise behind the stumps, is a young man, and has the ability to give the ball a whack when coming down lower in the order. He was rather unceremoniously dropped after a successful one-day series in South Africa in favour of Alec Stewart, but surely now is the time to give him another go in the side to prepare for the World Cup next year.
David Reavill, England

The selectors took Foster on tour knowing he was raw, so after a games' rest he should complete the series. But wicketkeeping is a skill to be developed over a long period and alongside Russell and Rhodes he looks a novice. Foster was selected too early and should be allowed to learn at county level. Stewart is still clearly the best we have for one-day matches.
Andy Brown, UK

The obvious answer would be to give Foster another chance

Ben, England

Foster is not the weak link. He wasn't even playing in the second ODI when we lost by 155 runs. We put so much pressure on the lad, asking him to give up University for a year to go on tour, and then as soon as he puts a glove wrong we jump on his back and blame him for everything. When will we ever learn? We should take a leaf out of France's Football team. They didn't even qualify for the World Cup in 94, but look at them now. Build for the future - no more quick fixes please.
Michael, England

Why the hell don't we learn from New Zealand and the Aussies? Stick to a team of talent and just play them! Seven of the New Zealand team has been playing together unchanged for the past five years. When they were bad, they kept faith and now they are, in my opinion, the third best one-day squad in the world. Just stick with the team we have for the next 12 months and give them a chance. Stop messing them around - especially Foster and Trescothick.
Scott, England

Two words: Jack Russell.
Micky Briers, Gloucestershire, England

Same old England. The obvious answer would be to give Foster another chance. Would they drop Trescothick or Hussain if they were out of form? Foster is a good keeper who needs to be given time and confidence!
Ben, England

I couldn't agree more with David Gower. I always have high regards for him. He has exactly judged the standard of the England cricket team. One more interesting thing is that none of the English batsmen figures in the top 10 of the world rankings (be it ODI or Tests).

Fifteen years back England had a dream batting line up: Gooch, Gower, Gatting, Lamb. The standard of batsmen in the current team is nowhere close to the standard of the above mentioned names. There lies the problem.
Uthams, USA

Stewart is still the best man for the job and until he isn't he should still be behind the stumps

Dave M, England

Having destroyed young Read's confidence by blaming him for the woeful performance of the team, England are trying to do the same to the excellent Foster. England are a poor one day team, with or without Foster, as they proved last week. Until they start making runs they will keep losing, and that isn't Fosters fault.
James Davey, UK

Stewart is still the best man for the job and until he isn't he should still be behind the stumps. He's done too much for English cricket to be brushed aside like this. Mind you, half the problem with our cricket is the selectors, i.e. Mr David Graveney.
Dave M, England

England selectors have a bad habit of changing players quite often. They want newcomers to perform rightaway. When the seniors can't, how can you expect the newcomers to be on top?
Sun, USA

Why can't we give Hegg a chance? Let Foster sit back and collect his wits.
Jingles, USA

Talk about a scapegoat. The entire England team was deficient in Wellington - not just the keeper.
Andrew Stevenson, New Zealand

Where is Chris Read?

Gautam Narayan, USA

Surely it's too early to ditch Foster. Alright, he's not the finished article yet, but give him time, he's only had a season of senior cricket. How long did Atherton and Stewart get?
Alexander, England

Where is Chris Read?
Gautam Narayan, USA

There's a guy playing Grade cricket for Manly in the Sydney Grade comp called Pipe. He's your man!
Matt Todd, Aust

England's best option is definitely Alec Stewart. He has the experience to play in the middle order or even open the innings, and his strokeplay is second to none. If we're looking at fielding our strongest team then we cannot disregard him from the one-day arena.
John Ngo, UK

Fossie is a player who has developed at an amazing pace. Just three years ago, I was playing school cricket against him and he looked destined for big things then. He's made notable errors, but also he has had some even more notable successes, in both his glovework and his overall attitude. Stick with him and he'll develop into one of the vital members of the side in next to no time.
Adam, England

Does it really matter? Was the 155 deficit really conceded in byes? "WB Grace, Jack Hobbs, Allan Knott ...your boys sure took a beating!"
Sean, New Zealand

For all Foster's errors I still feel he is the best man for the job at the moment

Mike Shaw, UK

I think the England cricket selectors should look at Sven-Goran Eriksson's example and give youth a chance. He has rid the team of the Inces and Battys of this world, and replaced them with a fresh new approach. The same should be done with Alec Stewart - a great servant in the past, but that is where he should remain.
Andy, Canada

I think its time to give Warren Hegg a go, just to give him a chance with bat and with gloves.
Mark Langwieser, England

I have always believed that you need a specialist keeper. Stewart was a specialist and also a front line batsman, which was a huge bonus. But he is getting on and we need to look forward. For all Foster's errors I still feel he is the best man for the job at the moment. Six months ago people had written off Flintoff, and now he is becoming irreplaceable. Despite being a Surrey fan, I say stick with Foster.
Mike Shaw, UK

Here we go again, the same people who advocate getting in some new blood and cutting some of the dead wood at the end of the domestic season are now who are calling for reinstatement of senior pros.

For years we have needed to identify the future of English cricket and give it a chance to bloom and progress by sticking with it, in the same way the Australians did. Foster is the future of English cricket, not Trescothick behind the stumps and certainly not a return to Alec Stewart. He has shown some good signs of being capable, now get off his back and give him and the others a chance.
Tim, England