Darren Gough will not stay on for the three Tests in New Zealand once the one-day series has been completed. Speaking at a press conference this morning prior to his side's departure for India, Nasser Hussain was quite clear on the subject: "Darren Gough has ruled himself unavailable for the Test series in New Zealand by not going to India for the Tests." Asked whether Gough might be allowed to stay on if he bowled well in the one-dayers or if another of the seamers picked up an injury, Hussain hesitated but said, "He has not put himself in the hat." He said it with a tone of voice that suggested he would love to pick Gough for the Tests, but recognised the need to carry out England's policy of not allowing the players to pick and choose their Test series – Gough had opted out of the India tour a long time before Andy Caddick and Robert Croft chose not to go for security reasons.

But Hussain stressed that Gough still had a big role to play in Test cricket. "He will be in the shake-up next summer," he said. "Duncan Fletcher has said that you need characters: Gough and Andrew Caddick are certainly characters."

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com.

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