England Performance Squad

I notice England effectively had a 2nd XI (I'm not sure if they are still there) called the England Performance Squad in South Africa during the early stages of the tour. They were able to move players back and forward between this squad and the offical England squad in the event of injuries etc.

I must say this idea makes a hell of alot of sense and I can't believe its not common practice for major tours. When Australia tour England, India or South Africa, Australia A (Australia's rather rediculous name for its 2nd XI) should concurrently tour the same country. There are two obvious benefits of this: 1. Fringe players from the main squad can be released to get some meaningful match practice, rather than endless net sessions, thus keeping them in form in the case they do get the call-up. 2. In the event of an injury in the main squad, a replacement can be drafted in from the A team and be not only match fit, but already exposed to the conditions of wherever it is they are playing. This is far better than flying someone in from Australia where they would have either been playing in completely different conditions, or in the middle of an off-season. It also eliminates the problem of jet-lag.

It seems so obvious.