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| Vikram Solanki – back in the frame© Getty Images |
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The Worcestershire pair of Kabir Ali and Vikram Solanki have been given surprise recalls to England’s one-day squad, as the selectors unveiled their 14 players to take on the world’s best in the Champions Trophy next month. Also included in the squad is their Worcestershire team-mate, Gareth Batty, as well as Yorkshire’s Anthony McGrath, who retains his place despite his peripheral role during England’s winter tours of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies.For several months now, England have made it plain that their focus is on creating a side capable of competing at the 2007 World Cup, although it is unclear quite where that leaves their intentions for this tournament, ostensibly the second-most prestigious in the cricket calendar.Of the 16 players who featured in England’s plans for the recent NatWest Series, five have been dropped – the allrounders, Ian Blackwell and Rikki Clarke, who have been unable to match up to the all-conquering influence of Andrew Flintoff; the batsmen, Robert Key and Michael Powell, and Sajid Mahmood, Lancashire’s young fast bowler, who is perhaps the most unfortunate of all to be overlooked, despite being carted for 56 runs in seven overs on his debut at Bristol last month.Instead, the pace-bowling duties have been entrusted to Kabir, another man with a solitary cap to his name. However his debut, against Zimbabwe last summer, was even less of a success than Mahmood’s – it was washed out before he could even get his hands on the ball. He will provide back-up to James Anderson and Darren Gough, whose powers may be waning, but whose skills at the death cannot yet be overlooked by England.The batting, once again, is heavily weighed on the shoulders of the big three – Flintoff, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick – although Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood are becoming more-than-useful one-day back-ups. Once again, however, there is no room for Warwickshire’s Ian Bell, who had been tipped for selection following his phenomenal recent county form.Solanki, who scored a fine century against South Africa at The Oval last summer, appeared to have abandoned all hope of an England recall when he mustered 11 runs in three innings against Bangladesh last November. But the failures of his replacements, and concerns about England’s lack of mobility in the field have given rise to his recall. “He gives us options at the top of the order and is an outstanding fielder,” said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. “He has been in fine form for his county in both forms of the game.”Commenting on the squad, Graveney admitted that the team had not done itself justice in the NatWest Series, where they missed out on a place in the final. “As a result, we spent a long time looking at our options,” he said, “firstly because we didn’t do ourselves justice, and secondly because there are various options available to us with a number of young players on the fringes of the squad.”Squad Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, capt), Kabir Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Gareth Batty (Worcestershire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Ashley Giles (Warwickshire), Darren Gough (Essex), Stephen Harmison (Durham), Geraint Jones (Kent, wk), Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire), Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire), Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), Marcus Trescothick (Somerset).