England reduced their squad for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka starting next Thursday from 14 to 13 players, dropping swing bowler Dominic Cork on Saturday.


But batsman Mark Butcher, who is nursing a knee injury, was included in the squad for the Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Chairman of selectors David Graveney said that Cork, who played in the first drawn test at Lord's but missed out on the second at Edgbaston that England won, was not suited to conditions in Manchester.


"Given that we will be playing at Old Trafford we felt that Cork was unlikely to feature," he said.


"We don't yet know what the Old Trafford pitch will be like for next week. Although traditionally hard and with pace, we will have to wait until next week to assess the effect of any rain which it might have had and we will select the final team accordingly," he added. Graveney said that Butcher would undergo a test on his left knee on Tuesday before selectors decided whether he or John Crawley should play.


"We will be looking to make an early decision on his fitness in fairness to both him and John Crawley," Graveney said.


Graveney added that spinner Ashley Giles, who limped off with a sore calf during on Friday's Benson and Hedges semifinal between Lancashire and Warwickshire, would also undergo a fitness test though his injury did not appear serious. Squad: Nasser Hussain (captain), Mark Butcher, Andy Caddick, John Crawley, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Alex Tudor, Michael Vaughan. Bureau Report