England have a good record in the Hong Kong Sixes, winning the tournament in both 1993 and 1994 and finishing as runners-up in both 1995 and 1997.

At the first tournament, in 1992, England finished third equal, but the following year, captained by Graham Gooch, they beat Sri Lanka in a thrilling final by just one run. Dermot Reeve, who was born in Hong Kong, was named as man-of-the-match in the final.

The title was retained the following year when Australia were beaten in the final, but the team was unable to make it three in a row when they lost to South Africa in the final.

In 1996 the tournament was held in the final weeks of the English season, so it was very much a makeshift side that arrived in Hong Kong just before control of the then British colony was handed over to the Chinese. Despite that, they won their group beating both Australia and the West Indies – the eventual winners. However, they lost out in the second phase when they failed to win a game.

When the competition was last held, in 1997, England got to the final before losing to Pakistan, but the side selected for this tournament reflects a desire to get back into the winner's enclosure.

The squad was chosen by the national selectors who considered all those players who will not be involved in the Test series against India. They have gone for a team of hard-hitting all-rounders that appears ideally suited to this form of the game.

The seven-man squad consists of:

Matthew Maynard (Glamorgan) - Captain and wicket-keeper
Ian Blackwell (Somerset)
Dougie Brown (Warwickshire)
Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Mark Ealham (Kent)
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
Ben Hollioake (Surrey)

Team Manager - David Graveney

Brown came into the squad when original choice Richard Johnson of Somerset was called up for the party travelling to India. Although Andrew Flintoff is in Australia with the national academy players, he is travelling to Hong Kong for the event.

© CricInfo