ALEC STEWART chose yesterday to announce his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the season because he felt that it would quieten speculation about his future. It may, however, serve the opposite purpose. If England start the five-match series against South Africa either very well or very badly, calls to introduce a successor will reach a clamour.

Unlike its timing, the decision comes as no surprise. While Stewart, a fit 40, has long maintained that age is a mere statistic, he knows that younger alternatives, headed by Chris Read, have become a growing threat to his position. On top of that, the prospect of touring Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the first part of the winter held little appeal.

Even if Stewart had sought a place on that trip and offered himself for another central contract, there was little guarantee of the selectors meeting his wishes. This he must have known, through regular contact with David Graveney, the chairman of selectors. The fifth Test at the Oval in September always seemed the most appropriate occasion to say farewell. England’s most-capped player will be guaranteed a warm reception on his home ground.

The selectors, however, are sure to face renewed pressure to accelerate the evolutionary process now that Stewart has acknowledged that his future is short-term. Should the series be decided ahead of the final match, sentiment will be the only reason for sticking with him when Read could be given valuable experience before the trip to the sub- continent.

Although the prospect of denying Stewart a showpiece sounds harsh, it is worth remembering that the Australia selectors experienced a similar conundrum four years ago over whether to grant Ian Healy a last hurrah against India at his Brisbane home, or introduce a younger man by the name of Adam Gilchrist. They went for the latter and have not looked back since.

One way or another, Stewart’s role and position in the team has been under scrutiny for at least two thirds of his career. When it was put to him yesterday that his announcement meant that every international match may now be his last, he replied: “It has been like that for 128 Tests — it won’t be any different.”

Duncan Fletcher said that he was taken aback when Stewart revealed a decision, reached over the weekend, at breakfast yesterday. The news also seemed to catch the ECB unawares. There was no press release to accompany a media conference at Edgbaston, where the first npower Test begins tomorrow.

Stewart, a patriotic man, spoke in his customary matter-of-fact fashion, with Fletcher stony-faced at his side to eulogise. It all made for a curiously unemotional affair that ended after ten minutes or so with Stewart still vague about the reasoning that led him towards the conclusion.

“I have always thought I would know when the time is right, and this feels right,” he said. “After the World Cup I knew it was right to give up one-day games. You cannot take a decision like this lightly. There has been speculation in the media. I could have left it until later in the summer, but I feel it is better out in the open so that everybody knows. Now that people know where I stand it might quash a bit of the speculation.”

At least the country will be denied a repeat of the Michael Atherton saga two years ago, when the player stubbornly refused to confirm that he would retire at the end of the Australia series, even after waving his bat to all directions on his final dismissal at the Oval. He said goodbye in a two-paragraph press release the day after the defeat.

Stewart hopes to play for Surrey next season and insisted that he remains good enough to continue at the highest level. “My batting is fine, my performances I still think are very good,” he said. “The ideal would be to go out at the Oval, but it does not always happen that way. I have only been picked for one Test, not a whole series.”

Comments from Fletcher ought to ease his mind. “I still think that Alec is our best wicketkeeping all-rounder by some distance,” the coach said. “We have some young guys coming through — Chris Read must be a strong candidate. But Alec is one of our few world-class players. He has got better in the past two or three years and what has impressed me most is his professionalism as a role model.”

For all of that, Fletcher made no attempt to try to convince Stewart that he ought to reconsider. “I just believe that whenever this situation comes about, the player has to make up his own mind,” Fletcher said. “I would hate this to happen halfway through a tour, say, when it could really cause problems. There is nothing worse than a guy leaving the game bitter and that happens when players leave it too late.”

Padding up: the likely successors

CHRIS READ (Nottinghamshire): Outstanding wicketkeeper and plucky batsman with a strong advocate in Rod Marsh, he made a fine impression in the NatWest Series

JAMES FOSTER (Essex): Has impressed Duncan Fletcher with his temperament. A real fighter and decent batsman, but lacks Read’s tidiness with the gloves

GERAINT JONES (Kent): Raised in Australia, he replaced Paul Nixon at Kent this season and already has two hundreds to his name. Possible winter reserve

MATTHEW PRIOR (Sussex): Conscientious player who has shown dedication to retain a place alongside Tim Ambrose, another batsman-wicketkeeper, at Hove

PHILIP MUSTARD (Durham): Academy candidate establishing himself as first choice with his county. More likely to press for England selection in one-day format