Phone-in shows, newspaper columns and sports news channels devote plenty of time and effort to the make-up of the teams that represent their respective countries.

As a rule, selectors have a thankless task. If they pick a winning side, it is because that is what they are there to do.

If they pick a side that can't win, then they don't know what they are doing and should make way for someone who does.

They should generally – or at least I hope they do – work without an agenda and try to do their job honestly and with transparency.

Having said that, they sometimes don't help themselves.

Take the England side that is currently doing battle in the third Test at Edgbaston.

Although they are playing poorly, it is hard to find fault with the selection of the majority of the starting XI.

There is a case for a few variations, there always are, but by and large, those who pick the side have got it about right.

Michael Vaughan is short of runs and is under pressure, but he is a good captain and his record – he did score a Test century earlier this summer – should cut him a bit of slack.

And then there is Paul Collingwood. The Durham man is a wholehearted cricketer who has a good international record and makes the most of the talent he was given.

His character is favoured by those at the helm of the England team as he is considered a good man to have in the trenches when the going is tough.

They are the pros. The cons are that he is horrendously out of form. Not just below his best or even at 50 per cent, but completely off the boil.

A run of form that results in an average of just over 10 in first-class cricket can often result in a P45 being issued – I know from bitter experience – not promotion to the national side.

There is also a wider issue here – that of central contracts. Collingwood has a contract, and deservedly so, but that seems to be the sole reason he is in the England line-up.

There are plenty of batsmen around the country – Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Robert Key and David Sales to name a few – who are scoring consistently, but are unlikely to get a call up while favouritism is shown to those in possession.

England over the past few Tests have been, with the bat, badly sub-standard and this leads back to the role of the selectors.

They have a job to pick the best side available, one that is likely to win games. At the moment, they are failing in both these respects.