David Graveney Squad Quotations

James Anderson has big match experience with England and we feel that his inclusion in the squad will give the captain and coach another bowling option in the event of Simon Jones being unfit to play.

In choosing our Test squad we wanted to show faith with the same group of players who have performed extremely well for England over the past two years. Although we lost the series, there were some encouraging individual performances from players who are new to Test cricket and we are keen to continue their development.

Ian Blackwell has been placed on standby to join the Test squad if Ashley fails to recover from his injury in time prior to the tour.

The selectors also considered Alex for the Test squad - and although he's not been included on this occasion, he made a good impression in Pakistan and is one of a number of spin bowlers we have chosen on the A tour.