Strauss named one-day skipper

8 June 2006

Andrew Strauss will captain the one-day side against Sri Lanka during the ODIs © Getty Images

The England selectors have named Andrew Strauss as captain of a 15-man One Day squad for the forthcoming ODI against Ireland and The NatWest Series and The NatWest International Twenty20 against Sri Lanka.

Strauss, who led the One-Day side in two matches in India, takes over as skipper after Flintoff was advised to rest from cricket for four weeks before having his ankle injury re-assessed.

Five players uncapped at international level have been named in the squad: Tim Bresnan, Glen Chapple, James Dalrymple, Ed Joyce and Alex Loudon. A sixth, Alastair Cook, has yet to make his ODI debut.

Kabir Ali, Gareth Batty, Matthew Hoggard, Matt Prior, Owais Shah and Vikram Solanki are the players to miss out on selection after touring India with the One-Day squad earlier this year.

James Anderson, Ian Blackwell, Ashley Giles and Simon Jones are all unavailable through injury

Glen Chapple has been named in the squad © Getty Images

Commenting on the selection, Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney said: “Michael Vaughan is making good progress with his recovery and we will continue to monitor his situation closely.

“We do not want to take any unnecessary risks with Michael and will wait until he is fully match fit before considering him for selection.

“This will be a tough test for the team. Our first choice captain is injured and his nominated replacement Andrew Flintoff is also unavailable through injury as are a number of senior players.

“Andrew Strauss will again deputise as captain. He did an excellent job captaining the team in difficult circumstances in India, securing our only win in the series and will bring his experience of leading Middlesex to the role.

“There are significant changes in personnel from the One-Day squad which toured India and this will be an exciting opportunity for the new players in the squad to make an impression.

“All the uncapped players have performed well for their Counties this season and will bring different qualities to the squad.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out through injury © Getty Images

“The selection of Tim Bresnan and Glen Chapple in particular is designed to provide the captain and coach with more flexibility in the bowling attack both at the beginning and the end of an innings.”

Commenting on the injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, the ECB’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Peter Gregory, said: “During the 3rd npower Test at Trent Bridge, Andrew Flintoff had scans on his painful left ankle.

“These revealed calcified deposits in the area at the back of the ankle from which a bone spur was removed in February 2005.

“We have taken advice from two leading ankle surgeons who both agree that these may not be contributing to Andrew’s symptoms and that surgery would cause more trauma and the potential for more scarring and further calcified deposits. Hence, our view is that surgery is very much the last resort.

“Simon Jones underwent keyhole surgery yesterday (Wednesday) in the United States on his left knee. The rehabilitation from this surgery must be taken slowly to give Simon the best chance of a good result.

“At this stage, we do not expect Simon to be bowling for at least five months which makes his participation in the Ashes extremely unlikely.”

England One Day Squad:

Player - County - D.O.B