Harmison left out of England's Ashes squad
- 00:01:06
- ITN
Harmison left out of England's Ashes squad
Steve Harmison has been left out of England's squad for the first Ashes Test in Cardiff. The 30-year-old Durham fast bowler was in impressive form against Australia last week, claiming six wickets for the England Lions, including the scalp of dangerous opener Phil Hughes in both innings. But the selectors have decided not to include Harmison and have instead included Durham team-mate Graham Onions in a 13-man squad. Onions claimed ten wickets in the one-sided series win over West Indies earlier this summer and has been added to the England line-up who drew their practice match against Warwickshire last week while Ian Bell is included as cover for the batting. "We were delighted with the way in which the team performed in the warm-up match at Edgbaston and it was very encouraging to see Andrew Flintoff bowl so well on his return to the side," said national selector Geoff Miller. "We were keen to show consistency in selection and retain the nucleus of the side that performed so well against West Indies in the Test series earlier this summer." He added: "Graham Onions has made an excellent start to his Test career and gives us a different option when we consider the make-up of our bowling attack and the type of conditions we will encounter." Full England squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann.
ITN | July 5, 2009
