England depth worrying - Caddick

Former England fast bowler Andy Caddick believes there is a lack of strength in depth in the current line-up.

He told Five Live Sport younger bowlers should spend more time playing county cricket before reaching Test level.

Injuries to stars like Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard have left Steve Harmison as the sole senior paceman taking on West Indies.

"It's pretty light. There's not much coming through the ranks if there are some more injuries," said Caddick.

Caddick, one of 10 English bowlers to have taken more than 200 Test wickets, continued: "I'm a little bit concerned these guys aren't having enough time playing domestic cricket.

"It would be nice to see these guys learning the trade, especially in one-day cricket."

If we can get the youngsters playing more domestic cricket England will be in a better position for the future

Andy Caddick

Under former coach Duncan Fletcher, centrally contracted players rarely appeared at county level, although his successor Peter Moores has shown signs of loosening the policy.

Harmison, who missed the World Cup having retired from one-day cricket, gained a rare opportunity to play for Durham at the start of the season.

But his opening partner Liam Plunkett, who struggled for consistency in the Caribbean, managed just one match for his county before the Test series began.

Somerset veteran Caddick was speaking after day two of the Championship match against a Leicestershire side including young pace star Stuart Broad.

"I would like to see him playing a lot more domestic cricket. These are young guys who need to spend two or three years learning how to bowl," he said.

"If we can get the youngsters playing more domestic cricket England will be in a better position for the future."