29 September 2004	Wednesday	13 Shaban 1425

LONDON, Sept 28: England have decided to rest Marcus Trescothick and Andy Flintoff from their squad for the one-day tour of Zimbabwe, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.

The pair will join Steve Harmison on the sidelines after the pace bowler asked on political grounds not to be considered for the five-match trip starting in November and which leads into England's tour of South Africa.

Several England players have expressed reservations about playing in Zimbabwe, including Andrew Strauss, although he has been picked. "The ECB Management Board yesterday accepted a recommendation from the selectors that three senior players should be rested from the tour to Zimbabwe on cricketing grounds," ECB Chairman David Morgan told the board's website.

"Andrew Flintoff and Marcus Trescothick both subsequently accepted the invitation to be rested while Ashley Giles declined." Zimbabwe have been temporarily suspended from test cricket after the majority of their first choice side walked out in a row over selection policy with their national board.

The Daily Mail reported on Monday that coach Duncan Fletcher wanted Vaughan to skip the tour to recharge his batteries but the captain has been included in the 14-man squad.

"While I certainly do not condone what is happening in Zimbabwe, I do not want to shirk my responsibilities as England captain and would not want to let the burden of captaincy fall on to another player's shoulders," Vaughan said.

ONE-DAY SQUAD FOR ZIMBABWE: Michael Vaughan (captain), James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Alex Wharf.

ONE-DAY SQUAD FOR SOUTH AFRICA: Michael Vaughan (captain), Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, Geraint Jones, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick, Alex Wharf. -Reuters