England in Sri Lanka 2007-08

Strauss misses out on Sri Lanka tour

Cricinfo staff

October 19, 2007

Andrew Strauss: staying at home © Getty Images

There was also no place for Mark Ramprakash, who many had touted for a recall, while Steve Harmison, who missed most of the summer with injury, will need to prove his fitness in South African domestic cricket before he can join the squad.

"We have chosen a balanced squad which includes a number of experienced Test players," David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, told the assembled press at The Oval, "together with several young players who performed well in the recent one-day series in Sri Lanka.

"Harmison is scheduled to play two four day matches for the Lions in mid November and he will join the tour party in Sri Lanka subject to him proving he has regained form and fitness following his back injury in the summer.

"Strauss needs to recover his best form and he has not been included in the squad on this occasion. We fully anticipate that he will have a major role to play with England in the next 12 months and he will be considered for the tour of New Zealand in the New Year.

"Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara are both fine players of spin bowling and their performances for the one-day side recently have demonstrated that they have the temperament required to succeed at the highest level."

Shah and Bopara's stock rose in England's one-day series, but Mustard - although he kept wicket proficiently - failed to produce a big score. He replaced Matt Prior for the recent one-day series who broke his thumb in the World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Graveney added that the England Performance Squad will be based in India from mid-November to act as a stand-by squad to cover for any injuries in Sri Lanka. England's first Test against Sri Lanka gets underway on December 1.

Full squad
Michael Vaughan (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard (wk), Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk), Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann

© Cricinfo

 Read Comments (7)

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Comments have now been closed for this article How many more wicket keepers are England going to give ten caps too before realising they are not quite up to it. Should we not be giving the place to a genuine glovesman (i.e Read) and giving them the training and confidence boost they need to get some runs - considering he has proven he can score runs before!? Posted by charlieboy on October 22 2007, 18:32 PM GMT cmsomerville i agree they need a third spinner but, as a yorkshire supporter, i disagree with the mentioning of adil rashid because i feel he is just too young. he needs to mature further in first class cricket and gain more experience before he is considered to represent england. Posted by i_love_kira on October 22 2007, 05:16 AM GMT So "Shah and Bopara's stock rose in England's one-day series" What happened to a side for one day matches and another for test matches. We've replaced Wright and Tremlett(combined ODI contribution - NIL) with Vaughan and Hoggard, I'm not sure that either should be flattered. Sorry Ramps (and Hick for that matter) but your too old and as for Adil Rashid, we all feel that he needs a bit more practice, another 20 years at Headingley and we'll be happy to let him have a central contract. Posted by StockyinBaildon on October 21 2007, 16:40 PM GMT Where's the third spinner. If you are going to play two spinners most matches you need three in the squad. If nothing else it would have been a good experience for Yorkshire's Adil Rashid. Posted by CMSomerville on October 20 2007, 14:10 PM GMT Is there an England cricket fan who wouldn't like to see Mark Ramprakash (or anyone else with similarly strong previous/current credentials) given an opportunity to show that times change, people change etc. and a place at the top table is determined by an open-minded set of criteria and selectors? Posted by TC_Fred on October 19 2007, 13:28 PM GMT Yes I am glad Strauss is left out but Ramprakash should have been in instead of Bopara Posted by georgeismyname on October 19 2007, 12:14 PM GMT Why did England give Strauss a central contract and then drop him from the team? It seems odd that he was amongst Englands best 12 players not so long ago and then not amongst the best 16 without playing a game in between! Having said that his form has been poor so I suppose it was only a matter of time. I'd have liked to seen Ramprakesh back but at least we are planning for the future by going for Shah and Bopara. The selection of Mustard for a test tour is also odd. He first class record with the bat compared to other keepers was poor although I agree he should be considered for the one day series. At least England are now being more consistent having worked through at least 5 keepers since the Ashes tour. Posted by FreddiesDad on October 19 2007, 11:55 AM GMT Top ^

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Stories

'It felt like I was dropped' - Strauss

Ramprakash disappointed to miss out

Strauss considers his options

Harmison must tour Sri Lanka says Gough

Comment - Strauss challenged to find the fight within

Swann revels in Test recall

Players/Umpires

Ravi Bopara

Stuart Broad

Steve Harmison

Phil Mustard

Andrew Strauss

Series/Tournaments

England tour of Sri Lanka

Teams

England