Harmison left out

Steve Harmison has not been included in England’s 12-man squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka.

This comes after making his return for Durham against Nottinghamshire, where he bowled 15 wicketless overs out of 90 in a rain affected match. Also absent from the squad is Ian Bell, the selectors deciding against the extra batsman. Otherwise the squad is the same, with the eleven that played at Lord’s and Gloucestershire’s Jon Lewis.

Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney said of the selections: “Stephen Harmison was considered for this Test match. But ultimately we have decided that his and England’s interests would be best served by allowing him more time to regain full match fitness. He is making good progress and we will continue to closely monitor his performances for Durham.”

England squad:
Andrew Flintoff (c), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Alistair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (wk), Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Sajid Mahmood, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis.