Stewart and Gough test England selectors

Alec Stewart and Darren Gough will find out on Tuesday just how far England's selectors can be pushed after announcing their unavailability for this winter's tour of India.

The two players made it clear they want a rest and are opting out of the trip to India, but they want to return for the test series in New Zealand next February.

Their stance has raised hackles at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which, when it reveals the squads for both tours on Tuesday, will effectively show whether it has bowed to the players' demands or taken a hard line.

David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, outlined their position on Sunday, and it will not have given Stewart and Gough grounds for optimism.

Graveney argued that a rest period had already been built into the schedule to accommodate senior players, warning that allowing cricketers to make their own decisions would set a dangerous precedent.

"Every effort has been made to look after the players' interests with regards to the demands of this year's winter schedule and the itinerary for India has been arranged in order to enable the players to spend Christmas at home," he said in a statement.

TEN WEEKS REST

"It is also the selectors' intention to include a number of younger players in the Zimbabwe one-day international squad in order to progress the development of this squad ahead of the next World Cup. Senior players not chosen for this trip will therefore have up to 10 weeks' rest before the tour to India begins in mid-November.

"The selectors' approach to this issue has been flexible. 'Test-only' contracts for this winter have been offered to certain players to allow them to rest from the One-Day programme and this offer remains on the table.

"However, the selectors feel it would set a dangerous precedent to allow players to pick and choose which elements of a winter tour they are prepared to undertake."

The players themselves are also unhappy with the situation, feeling their case is a strong one.

"The management and I have agreed to disagree," Gough was quoted as saying in Sunday's News of the World.

"I don't see why I can't go to New Zealand for the tests after missing the India series. They feel differently and they call the shots.

"I'm not going to attack the Board. That wouldn't be a sensible career move. Let's just say, I'm more than a little disappointed that it's come to this."

Justifying his stance, the 30-year-old pace bowler said: "I want to continue to play for England at test and one-day level through to the next Ashes and World Cup.

DECENT BREAKDOWN

"To do that I need a decent break and I've decided to stay at home for the rest of the year. That's my decision."

"It's a simple choice. Do I keep going until I break down or am exhausted? Or do I take a break now in the hope being around for the next 18 months?"

Stewart, 38, justified his decision for family reasons.

"For the first time in my career, I have decided to put my family and myself ahead of my cricket," the wicketkeeper and former England captain said in his Sunday Times column.

"Apart from the one-day series in South Africa and Zimbabwe last year, when I was not selected, it will be the first tour that I have missed since I started my England career 12 years ago."

Another reason for Stewart's decision also concerned events off the field.

"The other factor that influenced my decision is that I am sure that were I to go to India the claims made by the Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta that he paid me money on England's last Test tour there eight years ago -- claims which have been found by Lord Condon's anti-corruption and the England and Wales Cricket Board to have no substance -- will be given a fresh airing."

The veteran of 116 tests added: "Frankly, I have no desire to repeat the ordeal I experienced when the allegations first surfaced while I was on tour in Pakistan last year."

Mail Cricket Editor