LONDON, April 26: England's selectors have handed Marcus Trescothick the chance of a fresh start with the national side following the stress-related illness which forced him to pull out of the Ashes tour of Australia and the World Cup.

The batsman was included on Thursday in a 25-man performance squad for this summer's international matches, which begin next month with the arrival of the West Indies for Test and one-day series.

Trescothick, who remains one of 12 players contracted centrally to the ECB, is back in the squad after making a confident start to the new season with his county Somerset.

The biggest surprise in the squad is the inclusion of uncapped Durham paceman Graham Onions.

Middlesex's Owais Shah and Sussex duo Michael Yardy and Matthew Prior are the other players brought in to supplement the 12 centrally contracted stars and nine others who were with England at the World Cup.

Members of the performance squad can be withdrawn from county games at the discretion of new head coach Peter Moores during the season, although he can also select players from outside the squad, which is smaller than the 30-man squad named at this time last year.

Selectors' chief David Graveney explained: “Having five spare places in the squad will give us the flexibility to add players who force their way into the England frame through strong performances in county cricket.

“We obviously welcome competition for places in all disciplines and are particularly conscious that the squad is currently light in the area of specialist spin – Ashley Giles has been omitted from the squad at this stage due to his injury but could be added to the squad if he regains match fitness during the season.

“The wicket-keeping position remains a competitive area – Paul Nixon and Matt Prior have been included in the squad but will be aware that they face strong competition from keepers outside of the squad.”

Squad: Michael Vaughan, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Jamie Dalrymple, Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Ed Joyce, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Paul Nixon, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Prior, Owais Shah, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Yardy.—AFP