None too subtly the England guard has started to change. Matthew Hoggard has ripped the stripes from Andrew Flintoff’s adidas trainers to symbolise the end of his period as captain. Meanwhile, those with keen eyes who watched England practise yesterday would have spotted evidence of another shift.

Paul Nixon, name-checked by Duncan Fletcher at his post-Ashes press conference three days ago, was high on the rota for nets while the unfortunate Chris Read, whose batting failures in Melbourne and Sydney came after poor returns in the ICC Champions Trophy last October, ended the session bowling seam-up.

Barring a rethink, Nixon, who was due to feature in the Twenty20 international against Australia today, will keep wicket in the triangular tournament, which also involves New Zealand, beginning on Friday. At 36, he is coming into international cricket at an age when the likes of Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer are bowing out.

Indeed, he is a year older to the day than another retiree, Damien Martyn, with whom he played for the Leicestershire second XI in the late 1980s. Nixon’s promotion may well be an indictment of England’s one-day failures in 2006, but it is also a tribute to his zealous fitness regime.

Stuart Clark and Mike Hussey, who made their Test debuts at 30, have shown over the winter that nothing beats a solid apprenticeship at domestic level before taking the biggest step of all. Both, incidentally, played county as well as state cricket before their first appearances for Australia.

Nixon believes that he is a better cricketer now than when he toured Pakistan as the understudy to Alec Stewart in 2000-01. “I do things more consistently and I am certainly more relaxed,” he said. “One of the important things in one-day cricket is to stay calm and that comes with experience.

I was interested to see that Shaun Udal got picked to go to India late in his career [Udal, too, was 36] last winter and Alec went on until he was 40. At Leicestershire, we have had a few old heads such as Jeremy Snape and Darren Maddy and we have become pretty effective in 20-over and 50-over cricket.”

In the longer term, the wicketkeeping position is wide open. For the World Cup in the Caribbean in two months’ time, the selectors want somebody who is used to batting in the lower middle order, where so many games are won and lost. That rules out Jon Batty and Matthew Prior, who have tended to open.

James Foster is an improved wicketkeeper and has played in a successful one-day side at Essex, but he enjoys the advantage of having very good batsmen above him. Leicestershire rely more on Nixon, whose strokes include an audacious reverse pull that was pioneered by Michael Bevan, the former Australia player.

England would like to name only one wicketkeeper in the 15-man squad for the World Cup, but there may be a problem with cover. David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, has confirmed that Marcus Trescothick, the long-term emergency replacement, is almost certain to be ruled out “at this stage” because of his stress-related illness.

Nixon is among the most personable men on the county circuit and deserves a fruitful benefit in 2007. But he also ranks among the most irritating of opponents. His methods are unorthodox and designed partly to frustrate. He is also a relentless chatterbox, even by the standards of modern wicketkeepers.

“I played with Steve Waugh for a month or so with Kent and he told me a bit about mental disintegration,” Nixon said. “I admire the Australians for it. Strong characters get to the top and if something needs to be said out there, then I’ll say it.”

Keepers of the faith

Roger Tolchard had the shortest career as England’s one-day wicketkeeper. He played in one match against Australia at Sydney in 1979. He took a catch but did not bat.