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England’s selectors are set to name an extended squad of up to 17 players ahead of the first Ashes Test at Cardiff on July 8, as attention shifts away from their Twenty20 campaign that came to an end in a rain-reduced run-chase against West Indies at The Oval on Monday night, and onto the summer’s main event.

In a change of convention under the new coach, Andy Flower, England’s original intention had been to unveil a training squad this Saturday, ahead of their three-day warm-up match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston on July 1, and trim it down to a more manageable number before the Cardiff Test gets underway a week later.

Now, however, that announcement has been put back until Monday, June 22, to allow key players – in particular Andrew Flintoff – to prove their form and fitness in county cricket, and other fringe candidates such as Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan, a final opportunity to impress the selectors.

Flintoff has already been in action for Lancashire this past week, bowling with impressive hostility in their County Championship defeat against Durham, in his first outing since undergoing knee surgery in April. He has another four-day game lined up against Hampshire at Liverpool, starting tomorrow.

“It was very good news to see him back for Lancashire and bowling well,” said Flower. “I think he has another game now, so getting some first-class cricket under his belt is very important for his own readiness for the Ashes. If he’s fit he’s a shoo-in. If he’s fit and firing of course.

“We’ll be getting together for a couple of team building sessions prior to the Warwickshire game,” Flower added. “The squad we’ll initially announce will be larger than the 12 or 13 for the first Test. I would think Flintoff will be in that larger squad, and then the first Test squad will be trimmed down.”

England’s three-day game at Edgbaston runs concurrently with the England Lions fixture against Australia at New Road, and is a rare opportunity for the Test team to obtain non-international match practice in a crowded summer.

“Getting together for a first-class game would be a good thing and we envisage it being a proper eleven-a-side game,” said Flower. “Some of the guys are playing first-class cricket today and we’ll decide on individual commitments to Twenty20 matches when the squad is picked.”

The majority of the players involved in England’s Twenty20 campaign will be rested until the squad gets together in Birmingham next week. Kevin Pietersen is being given an opportunity to manage his Achilles injury, while James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann are also sitting out the latest round of Championship matches.

Having tried in the early part of the summer, often unsuccessfully, to avoid talking about the Australians, Flower added that England can now officially switch their mindsets and start to focus on the big one. “I’m very excited about the prospect of the Ashes now,” he said, “and yes, absolutely, everyone can talk about them now.”
Source:Cricket News

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