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England recalls Thorpe after a year
London, Aug 31: England recalled veteran batsman Graham Thorpe in a 13-man squad named today in a bid to win the final cricket Test against South Africa at the Oval and square the five-match series two-all.
London, Aug 31: England recalled veteran batsman Graham Thorpe in a 13-man squad named today in a bid to win the final cricket Test against South Africa at the Oval and square the five-match series two-all.
England also picked uncapped off-spinner Gareth Batty after he was named in the third Test squad and dropped.
The England squad was scheduled to be announced on Friday but injury concerns forced the three-man selection committee headed by David Graveney to delay it. Middle-order batsman and former skipper Nasser Hussain (broken toe) and seam bowler James Kirtley (shin splints) were overlooked for selections.
Thorpe, 34, hasn't played since the last Test against India at the oval last year when the left-hander took time off to sort out his personal life and spend more time with his two children following his marriage break up. "We have chosen Graham Thorpe as a like-for-like replacement for Nasser Hussain," said Graveney. "Graham is a proven performer at test level and I'm sure that he will relish the challenge."
"We will need to take 20 wickets in the match in order to square the series and the inclusion of Gareth Batty is designed to give us more bowling options at the oval," he added.
Swing bowler Martin Bicknell, who is nursing a hamstring injury will undergo a fitness test.
South Africa leads the series 2-1 and the final Test starts on Thursday. England squad:
Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe, Ed Smith, Andrew Flintoff, Alec Stewart, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Martin Bicknell.
Bureau Report
The England squad was scheduled to be announced on Friday but injury concerns forced the three-man selection committee headed by David Graveney to delay it. Middle-order batsman and former skipper Nasser Hussain (broken toe) and seam bowler James Kirtley (shin splints) were overlooked for selections.
Thorpe, 34, hasn't played since the last Test against India at the oval last year when the left-hander took time off to sort out his personal life and spend more time with his two children following his marriage break up. "We have chosen Graham Thorpe as a like-for-like replacement for Nasser Hussain," said Graveney. "Graham is a proven performer at test level and I'm sure that he will relish the challenge."
"We will need to take 20 wickets in the match in order to square the series and the inclusion of Gareth Batty is designed to give us more bowling options at the oval," he added.
Swing bowler Martin Bicknell, who is nursing a hamstring injury will undergo a fitness test.
South Africa leads the series 2-1 and the final Test starts on Thursday. England squad:
Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe, Ed Smith, Andrew Flintoff, Alec Stewart, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Martin Bicknell.
Bureau Report