A new international series in England is normally the signal for fresh starts and the end of one or two careers.

But I'd be surprised if there were too many changes to the side which plays Zimbabwe at Lord's next week.

Good thing too. I'm a firm believer that the best 11 players should be picked for every game.

There might be a temptation to think 'It's only Zimbabwe, we can afford to experiment' but if that were to happen then I for one would be disappointed.

You don't see the Australians experimenting. They identify talent quickly, fast-track the player into the Test side and then give them as much opportunity as possible to fulfill the promise that has been shown in them.

It's a system that has brought them a lot of success and is one we are gradually applying in England as well which is encouraging.

It's interesting that Rod Marsh, who has been our Academy Director for nearly tzhree years now, has joined the selection panel at the expense of the captain.

Again, I see that as a good thing. Rod watches an awful lot of county cricket and can identify young talent.

In any case, I'm totally against the captain of an England side helping to pick the team as well.

My only hope is that Marsh's inclusion does not signal a shift in policy whereby future England teams are made up more or less entirely of Academy graduates. That would be a big mistake in my book.

Players develop at different rates and good ones sometimes don't begin to make an impression until they are a lot older, Marcus Trescothick for example.

Having said that, I can see that the Academy is starting to bear fruit.

There were two good examples on show at Edgbaston this week, unfortunately they were not in the Sussex team.

I have always been a big fan of Warwickshire's Ian Bell and if there is any consolation in our defeat against them it is that the century Ian took off us might just kick-start a career that seemed to have stalled last season under the expectation of being regarded as the next 'big thing.'

They way he celebrated his ton suggested he had won a very important personal battle. His technique is excellent and I like his temperament as well.

Jim Troughton is another of those late developers I was talking about. It seems to have given him an extra determination to succeed if Monday's evidence is anything to go by, he's certainly got all the shots and I can see him eventually playing for his country.

As I've said, I can't see there being too many changes for the first Test. Rob Key would get the vote over John Crawley for the middle order slot and I still regard Alec Stewart as our No. 1 wicketkeeper.

Stewie is going to have to hang up his gloves eventually and, at the moment, Chris Read of Nottinghamshire is probably favourite to replace him.

But knowing Stewie, he will want to go on as long as possible and by the time his retirement comes along there might be a 'keeper or two here at Sussex in pole position to take his place. Time will tell.

We held what's politely termed as a 'frank exchange of views' at the County Ground on Wednesday when the squad got together to discuss the Warwickshire defeat.

Plenty has already been said and written about our last day performance at Edgbaston and I'm not going to go over old ground here.

Suffice to say I think the message has got across and that we will see a marked improvement in our next Championship match on Wednesday.

It's our first visit of the season to one of our out grounds up at Horsham. Personally, it's a venue I enjoy although my appearance record there is not the best.

I didn't play in 2001 because of a family bereavement and I missed out last year when my knee injury flared up.

And back in 1998 I was making my England one-day debut when we faced my old county Derbyshire.

Given decent weather I'm sure there will be a positive result either way. I would describe Horsham as an old-fashioned featherbed. There isn't much pace in the wicket but you never really feel 'in', there is always something to encourage the bowlers.

But you can score runs there. The boundaries are short, it's a fast outfield and we have seen some great innings played at Horsham in recent seasons.

One by Graeme Hick in our promotion year sticks in the memory.

The players like it because the people are friendly, we get looked after well and the facilities, compared to some outgrounds, are very good. I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Saturday May 17