There was a time when the second touring party of the winter were called England A. It was a simple name that expressed adequately that they were the reserves.

Then they became the England Academy, which hinted at developing young talent, but in the aftermath of the Ashes debacle in 2006-07, it was decided to change the name of the academy’s base in Loughborough to the National Performance Centre and the name of the squad to the England Performance Programme (EPP). Except when they actually play a match, they are the England Lions.

It sounds like the sort of confused tinkering that a troubled organisation goes in for. Just look at how often the names of government ministries change for no clear reason. Rebranding can be a smokescreen for inaction. But there has been a subtle shift in the purpose of this second-string winter party and the clue is in the second word of their title.

Performance. This is not about apprenticeship or a winter jolly. Those selected for the EPP must be prepared to perform. Some of them may be callow, but like understudies in a West End show, they might have to step in at a moment’s notice when the leading players cannot take the stage. It is daunting, but it is a great opportunity.

The EPP also offers a suitably titled base for those who are established to get back into shape. Andrew Strauss was training with the “reserves” in Bangalore on the day Mumbai was attacked. Monty Panesar and Michael Vaughan were also working with them this winter. One would hardly have expected them to train with a squad branded merely as “academy”.

It is no coincidence that most of the ten young — or not so young, in the case of Alan Richardson, 33 — understudies sent to Abu Dhabi yesterday with the senior side are bowlers. The three players said to be most lukewarm about going on to India — Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison and James Anderson — are fast bowlers. Although the EPP’s primary role will be to put in the hard yards in the nets, preparing the batsmen for the challenges ahead, one or more of them could be asked to board the flight to Madras (Chennai). A Test debut or a recall could be just round the corner.

Certainly all the bowling options are covered with the exception of a left-arm quick bowler to replace the injured Ryan Sidebottom: Amjad Khan and Robbie Joseph, the Kent pair, offer the most pace, the latter being able to bowl reverse swing; Richardson, of Middlesex, and Mark Davies, of Durham, are slower but more canny and have earned respect in the County Championship; Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood have tasted Test cricket before, but not since 2007; Ravi Bopara, who supplements his batting with useful medium-pace bowling, and Samit Patel want to kick on from the England one-day squad.

As well as Patel’s slow left-arm spin, England have included an orthodox off spinner in Ollie Rayner and decided to add Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire leg spinner, to the party yesterday. That is in addition to the spin options offered by Panesar and Graeme Swann in the original squad. All eventualities are catered for.

Rashid has been hailed by many for the past couple of years — being an England-qualified leg spinner who can bat in the top seven tends to make people pay attention. Taking seven wickets on your first-class debut and following it with a century and ten more wickets for England against India in an under-19 Test, as Rashid did in 2006, gets tongues wagging. Taught by Terry Jenner, Shane Warne’s mentor, Rashid, 20, could be a significant player one day, but the ECB is understandably anxious not to rush his debut.

Before Mumbai was attacked, Mahmood and Khan were called up as cover for Stuart Broad, who has a hamstring strain and will fly straight to Madras rather than via Abu Dhabi, and Flintoff, who had yet another worry with his left ankle. They may feel that they are at the front of the queue should there be any bowling vacancies, but that is the thing about performance programmes: nothing happens unless you perform. This weekend is their dress rehearsal.