The presence of Marcus Trescothick in England's Twenty20 World Cup squad should be met with a degree of caution. Despite repeatedly stressing his keenness to play for England again, Trescothick has been commendably reluctant to confirm that he considers himself fully ready to make his comeback.
No doubt he could have featured for England throughout this summer, but the question hanging over him - as he admitted - was whether he could be trusted to tour with the team in Sri Lanka and New Zealand this winter.
The Twenty20 World Cup will give slender indication of his readiness to do that. The competition lasts just two weeks, and given the manner in which most players treat the game it seems unlikely to be the most nerve-racking of experiences.
Though he has enjoyed a good season in the county championship, Trescothick's form in both one-day and Twenty20 cricket this season has been underwhelming, with just two fifties across 12 games: in his eight one-dayers he averages 23 while in four Twenty20 games his 34 average is helped by not-outs.
There is no doubt that, at anything approaching his best form, Trescothick is the answer to several of the batting problems that England have endured in his absence. An aggressive opener with a proven ability to score quick but orthodox runs against the best attacks, he would have provided the necessary oomph in the power plays.
More than that, Trescothick's team-mates say he is a pleasure to play with: jovial, wise and inspirational, he was in many ways every bit as important to the England team dynamic as Michael Vaughan.
The fact that this is only a preliminary squad means that the pressure on him to come through on his commitment will not be too excessive. However, in another light, this may well be his last chance to return to the team. He is 31, and has often stated that he wants to spend a couple of seasons captaining Somerset before he retires.
Presumably Matt Prior would drop down the order and Trescothick open with Alastair Cook. They would have the potential to be one of England's great opening partnerships. Unfortunately, the only way Trescothick can prove himself ready to play again is by going on tour and making it through the winter without any upset.
Self-diagnosis and stress do not go hand in hand, and medical assurances can only be so certain given the nature of his illness.
While his inclusion has taken the headlines, there are several other interesting inclusions in the squad. Chris Schofield, Darren Maddy and Jeremy Snape all enjoy recalls after considerable time away from the team. Schofield and Maddy in particular can be considered Twenty20 specialists. Schofield used shrewd changes of pace to take 17 wickets at 8 runs each in this year's competition, while Maddy has been the most consistent player in the country in Twenty20 since the competition began.
Mark Pettini, 23, and Luke Wright, 22, both have the distinct potential to play themselves into the one-day team if they perform well.
Ian Blackwell, James Benning and Ali Brown are among those players who were unfortunate to miss selection, while the recall of Paul Nixon ahead of Warwickshire's Tim Ambrose is possibly the most baffling decision of all.
