article_snippet.sent: There has been so much happening, from the demise of Paul Downton, to speculation surrounding the new director of cricket and the ever-present spectre of Kevin Pietersen, that the imminent first Test has barely registered.
article_snippet.sent: Equally, the return of Jonathan Trott, who looks set to open with Cook, 18 months after Cook left England’s Ashes tour in a state of turmoil is a significant development that has virtually passed under the radar.
article_snippet.sent: England, both publicly and privately, still insist that nothing has changed regarding Pietersen and there seemed a genuine indifference from Cook when asked about the sacked maverick for the umpteenth time on Sunday.
article_snippet.sent: The difference now, of course, is that the two men most responsible for jettisoning Pietersen after the Ashes have gone, Downton having been sacked and former ECB chairman Giles Clarke now marginalised as the new president.
article_snippet.sent: Jonathan Trott has returned to the Test side .
article_snippet.sent: A glance at the West Indies net session yesterday was an exercise in trying to put faces to names that are little known in the wider cricket world.
article_snippet.sent: One thing that has become clear under the new regime is that the ECB want to try to involve the many good brains of former captains, with Nasser Hussain due to talk to the team last night and Mike Atherton due to make a presentation to Anderson today ahead of Mike Atherton landmark Test.