Mahmood and Lewis get the nod

Injury hit England are on the brink of giving Test debuts to uncapped seamers Sajid Mahmood and Jon Lewis on Thursday for the first Test against Sri Lanka, while Andrew Flintoff retains the captaincy in Michael Vaughan’s absence.

England, who are missing James Anderson, Simon Jones and Steve Harmison, have turned to 30 year old Lewis after he took 9-90 for England A against the Sri Lankans last week.

Young left arm spinner Monty Panesar is also in the squad along with Liam Plunkett, who is also pressing for one of the seamers spots.

Marcus Trescothick makes a return to England’s side, after his mysterious withdrawal from England’s tour of India and unsatifactory explanation.

Both Ian Bell and Alistair Cook are in the squad, with the last batting slot in England’s XI expected to be between them.

England squad:
Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire, captain), Marcus Trescothick (Somerset), Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), Alastair Cook (Essex), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Geraint Jones (Kent), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Jon Lewis (Gloucestershire).