What is it about the England wicket-keeping debate that provokes so much passion?

No sooner had 606 opened on Sunday morning than responses began pouring in to England's decision to revert to Geraint Jones as their Test stumper instead of Chris Read.

Much of it was pretty vitriolic, accusing various officials of having favourites or ganging together.

It seems you just can't sit on the fence on this subject but let's look at the facts first and then explore some of the background.

The debate really hinges on whether England should pick their best wicket-keeper or their best batsman who can keep wicket.

PLAIN FACTS

In 13 Tests dating back to 1999, Read has 325 runs at an average of 20.31, with 37 catches and five stumpings.

In two Tests this summer, when he replaced Jones after a two-year exile, he hit 38, 55 and 33 against Pakistan.

But he has since had a poor run in one-day cricket, with four successive single-figure scores during the ICC Champions Trophy, although he came in each time in the middle of an England collapse.

Jones played 31 consecutive Tests over a two-year period, hitting 1109 runs at 25.79, taking 119 catches and making five stumpings.

In the first five Tests of last summer, though, he failed to pass 19.

Allowed to return to Kent to end the season, he began to turn his poor batting form around with County Championship half-centuries in successive games.

Those are the plain facts, now it gets murkier.

Opinion on glove work is pretty subjective, with only howling dropped catches standing out.

Consensus seems to have it that Jones has steadily improved while Read's skills deteriorated in India, although Jones dropped Phil Jaques on the way to his century in Friday's tour opener.

SELECTION PROCESS

The method of selection is intriguing and could have implications far beyond this tour.

In England, coach Duncan Fletcher is joined by David Graveney and Geoff Miller to form the selection panel. This trio also selected the Ashes touring party.

On tour, though, Fletcher and captain Andrew Flintoff make the decisions.

Something similar happened in Antigua in 2004, when Jones was first brought into the Test team.

The move back to Read in August was seen as being pushed by Graveney and Miller; the move back is seen as the work of Fletcher. Graveney was unavailable to comment on Monday morning.

TECHNIQUE AND TACTICS

There are good tactical arguments for making a change going into the Test series, although the 14-a-side game against New South Wales could have featured both men.

Jones was raised in Brisbane, where the first Test begins on 23 November, and his love of the cut and the hook should bring more success on Australia's harder wickets.

England's lower-middle batting order was woefully weak at the end of the summer, in the absence of Ashley Giles, who has been a stalwart at number eight.

If Jones really is a better batsman than Read, strengthening the seven spot gives the tourists more freedom to select their best bowlers, perhaps favouring Monty Panesar.

Claims have been made about the differing characters of the two keepers but those are difficult to confirm from outside the dressing room.

STRAIGHT DECISION

You can blur the issues affecting the rest of the Test line-up because none of them come down to a choice between two players.

One of Ian Bell, Alastair Cook or Paul Collingwood must miss out, unless England make a change at the top of the order.

Bowling selections depend on pitch and weather conditions so the decisions between Giles and Panesar or Saj Mahmood and James Anderson are blurred.

Like the debate of the 1970s between Bob Taylor and Alan Knott, though, the choice of wicket-keeper is a stark one.

I've been accused in the past of being a Read fan. Having spoken to him several times before and since his last exile, I'm certainly keen that he should have a fair shot.

When passions on both sides are this strong it is vital that selection processes are transparent. At the moment they don't seem to be.