Butcher fit for 1st Test against WI

England's top-order batsman Mark Butcher has been passed fit to play in the first Test against the West Indies starting Thursday at Lord's.

Butcher had strained a thigh muscle during one of Surrey's Twenty20 Cup matches last week, thus putting him in doubt for the series opener.

Though Butcher has been included in the 13-man squad for the Lord's Test, and is almost sure of taking his spot in the final XI, the selectors have named Kent batsman Robert Key, as cover.

Key's county teammate Martin Saggers, however, has been dropped from the side that completed the 3-0 whitewash over New Zealand, to make way for the returning Simon Jones, who missed the last two Tests of New Zealand series, as a result of a foot injury.

England squad:
MP Vaughan (captain), ME Trescothick, AJ Strauss, MA Butcher, GP Thorpe, A Flintoff, GO Jones (wicket-keeper), RWT Key, AF Giles, SJ Harmison, MJ Hoggard, SP Jones, JM Anderson.

Posted by Sudeep