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| September 20, 2005 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 15, 1426 |
England spring surprises for Pakistan tour
LONDON, Sept 19: Fast bowler Simon Jones was named on Monday in England’s squad to tour Pakistan next month subject to a fitness test on his injured right ankle. But England have sprung a surprise by including four uncapped players to join the Ashes winners. Chairman of selectors David Graveney added Hampshire seamer Chris Tremlett, his 36-year-old county team-mate Shaun Udal, Sussex’s Matt Prior and Alex Loudon of Warwickshire to the 17-man party which had otherwise virtually picked itself.
Loudon and Tremlett will be making their first overseas trip with the senior squad while Udal, who has played 10 One-day Internationals, makes his first trip since touring Australia in 1994-95.
He is rewarded for an outstanding county season.
Prior is included as the reserve wicket-keeper to provide competition for Geraint Jones, but the big surprise is the inclusion of Loudon as a third spinner ahead of Worcestershire’s Gareth Batty, who has performed that role for the last two winters.
Simon Jones topped the England bowling averages with 18 wickets at 21 runs each in the 2-1 series victory over world number one side Australia this year.
Graveney told a news conference that Udal had won a place on merit.
“In choosing our Test squad the area that involved the most discussion was the choice of spin bowlers,” Graveney said. “Udal is a guy who has been involved in county cricket for a long time.
“Spinners can play at that sort of age and statistics will show that Udal is by far the performance bowler at the present time which is why we want him to go.”
Graveney said the performances in county cricket of the other candidates, who included Batty, Graeme Swann and Richard Dawson, had been disappointing.
“They will be disappointed, we are disappointed,” he said.
Loudon, Warwickshire all-rounder, has attracted attention this season with his ability to bowl the doosra, a leg-spinner bowled with an off-spin action, was a surprise selection in the Test squad.
“He’s a young guy who’s got plenty of talent,” Graveney said. “There’s no doubt that off spinners have got to do something different.”
Graveney said Jones’s new found ability to reverse swing would be an asset on Pakistan’s abrasive pitches where the shine is quickly stripped from the ball.
Jones missed the final Test at the Oval because of a bone spur which may eventually require surgery and he has been resting since.
“He made an enormous contribution to our Ashes victory and we will continue to monitor his recovery from injury,” Graveney said.
Chris Tremlett, a member of England’s 12 for the first four Tests against Australia, and James Anderson provide the pace bowling backup.
Paceman Darren Gough, who still hopes to be part of England’s team at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, was left out of the one-day squad at his own request.
“Darren would like to make it clear that he has not decided to retire from One-day International cricket and the selectors fully understand his reasons,” Graveney said.
Michael Vaughan will captain both squads for the first of two off-season tours which includes November Tests in Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore. England then play five One-day Internationals before returning home prior to a tour of India in the new year.
Uncapped Durham fast bowler Liam Plunkett has named in the one-day squad.
Test squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick (vice-captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Alex Loudon, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett, Shaun Udal
One-day squad: Vaughan (captain), Trescothick (vice-captain), Anderson, Collingwood, Flintoff, Giles, Harmison, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Pietersen, Prior, Liam Plunkett, Vikram Solanki, Strauss, Tremlett.
SCHEDULE
Oct 26: Arrive in Rawalpindi.
Oct 31-Nov 2: Three-day match (Rawalpindi).
Nov 6-8: Three-day match (Bagh-i-Jinnah, Lahore).
Nov 12-16: First Test (Multan).
Nov 20-24: Second Test (Faisalabad).
Nov 29-Dec 3: Third Test (Qadhafi Stadium, Lahore).
Dec 7: One-day warm-up game (Bagh-i-Jinnah, Lahore).
Dec 10: First One-day International (Qadhafi Stadium, Lahore, D/N).
Dec 12: Second One-day International (Qadhafi Stadium, Lahore, D/N).
Dec 15: Third One-day International (Karachi, D/N).
Dec 19: Fourth One-day International (Rawalpindi, D/N).
Dec 21: Fifth One-day International (Rawalpindi, D/N).
Dec 22: Depart for London.
Note: The first three-day game will be a non first-class fixture. If Eid falls on Nov 2, the third day’s play will be cancelled although there is also an option of starting the game a day earlier on Oct 30.—Agencies
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