No Party Invites For Vaughan And Harmison
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 : The Ashes, England, Tests
The International careers of Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison could be over after the pair were omitted from England's Ashes training party.
Although the final squad for the first test will not be announced until July 5th, it now seems highly unlikely that either Vaughan or Harmison will play a part.
Andrew Flintoff has been selected and will be looking to prove his fitness, while Ian Bell will vie with Ravi Bopara for the number three slot.
The spin bowler position is also up for grabs and Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann and Adil Rashid have all been given the opportunity to impress.
Vaughan was captain of the last England team to win the Ashes but has struggled for form and fitness in recent years. National Selector Geoff Miller told BBC Sport: “Michael Vaughan will, of course, be disappointed not to have been included. But I met with Michael recently and he understands that he needs to make runs consistently in County Cricket if he is to force his way back into the squad.”
For Harmison however, recent form has not been an issue. The Durham bowler has taken 16 wickets in his last two county games and while he misses out on the training squad, he has been included in the England Lions team to face Australia. Should Harmison impress against the Aussies a recall may not be out of the question and according to Miller: “The door has not been closed on any player at this stage.”
The 16 man training squad will take on Warwickshire in a three day warm-up match before the first Ashes test gets underway on July 8th. Make sure you keep a close eye on the Ashes odds in the build-up to the Ashes cricket action and, if you need to get in the betting mood, check out Betfair's fanvfan site.
England training squad in full:
Andrew Strauss (captain) (Middlesex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravinder Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Graham Onions (Durham), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Matt Prior (Sussex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire).
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