January 05, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 25, 1428

LONDON, Jan 4: England have axed wicket-keeper Matt Prior for next month’s tour of New Zealand after he dropped a number of catches in the series against Sri Lanka.

Tim Ambrose was called up as a replacement and the 25-year-old will compete with Phil Mustard for a place in the team.

Batsman Andrew Strauss, a key figure in England’s 2005 Ashes triumph but omitted from the most recent tour of Sri Lanka, was recalled to the 16-man Test squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) here at Lord’s on Friday.

Kent off-spinner James Tredwell was called up for the one-day squad for the first time.

Michael Vaughan remained as captain of the Test squad with Paul Collingwood again in charge for the one-dayers.

Sussex’s Prior became the first England wicket-keeper to make a century on his Test debut when he appeared against the West Indies at Lord’s last May.

However, his recent form behind the stumps has been suspect with a string of handling errors that led to England losing the Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0.

Test squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Philip Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.

One-day squad: Paul Collingwood (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Philip Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.

—Reuters