Kerrigan is very highly rated by some good judges - and by that I mean quality players bating against him in the Championship, as well as his coaches at Lancs, who were happy for Gary Keedy to walk away to keep him. But I do wonder whether his figures are possibly a little inflated - a year playing on a ground that should not have been used for first class cricket, a reasonable return buoyed by cheap wickets in run chases and a season in division two might make him look a better bet than he is. Either way, as with Woakes, you can see why this was the time to have a look and see - after all, if you can't do it on a featherbed when the Ashes are over, when can you?