Andrew Caddick in, Martyn Ball and Richard Johnson out. That is the sum total of the changes England have made to their Test squad for the three-match series against New Zealand starting on March 13. That means no place for Durham's Steve Harmison, who was widely tipped to replace Jimmy Ormond; and no place for Warwickshire's batting prodigy Ian Bell, who might have come in for Usman Afzaal.

And there's no international comeback for Robert Croft, who pulled out of the tour to India because of security fears. The faster pitches in New Zealand mean that just two spinners are needed, so England decided to stick with Ashley Giles and Richard Dawson, who will now have to flop badly if Croft is to fight his way back into the side next summer. But David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors, insists that Croft "remains in our thoughts for the future".

Graham Thorpe returns to the side too after missing the last two Tests in India because of marital problems, but since he publicly made himself available last weekend anyway, his selection was an absolute certainty.

Graveney explained the policy of consistency: "In picking this squad, we were keen to retain the nucleus of the team which exceeded many people's expectations in India before Christmas in drawing two Test matches and losing one." As nuclei go, England seem to have a fairly big one.

England squad

Batsmen
Marcus Trescothick Somerset age 26
Mark Butcher Surrey 29
Nasser Hussain (capt) Essex 33
Graham Thorpe Surrey 32
Mark Ramprakash Surrey 32
Michael Vaughan Yorkshire 27
Usman Afzaal Nottinghamshire 24

Allrounders
Andrew Flintoff Lancashire 24
Craig White Yorkshire 32

Wicketkeepers
James Foster Essex 21
Warren Hegg Lancashire 33

Spinners
Ashley Giles Warwickshire 28
Richard Dawson Yorkshire 21

Seamers
Andrew Caddick Somerset 33
Matthew Hoggard Yorkshire 25
James Ormond Surrey 24

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com.

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