RECENTLY, while listening to a BBC Test Match Special broadcast the name of the late Test cricketer Ken Barrington was mentioned.

The mention of Ken evoked memories of the 1960s when he was such an integral part of the England side.

Ken performed the role of sheet anchor within the English batting, which meant he was our only hope in a crisis, and may I say there were many critical moments that Ken endured on behalf of England.

The qualities of Ken were many, not least his dependability and that fact that he always put his team before himself.

Wally Grout the late former Australian wicket keeper summed him up very well when he said: "Whenever I saw Ken coming to the wicket, I thought a Union Jack was trailing behind him.”

It is a long time since the days of Barrington and England have had subsequent great players but few with his courage and determination.  Kevin Pietersen had pretensions to greatness and was influential in wrestling the Ashes from Australia, but the prescient words of Wally Grout could never be applied to him.

Within the current England team Joe Root is a batsman Ken would surely approve of, and England must build their future around him. Alas for Pietersen, his future almost certainly lies within the pages of Wisden.

Derek Parker, Bishop Auckland.