Cricket
England keep same eleven
2010-08-15 16:28
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London - England named the same XI on Sunday that had put them 2-0 up in their four-match series against Pakistan for the third Test starting at The Oval on Wednesday.
Tim Bresnan, left out from a 12-man squad in the sides that won the first Test at Trent Bridge by 354 runs and the second Test by nine wickets at Edgbaston last week, was retained as bowling cover.
The seamer will play for Yorkshire in their Championship clash against champions Durham starting at Chester-le-Street on Monday.
He will join the England team on Tuesday before returning to play for Yorkshire on Wednesday, provided he is not required for Test duty.
This is England's last Test series before they begin the defence of the Ashes in Australia starting in November and national selector Geoff Miller said: "We were delighted with the way the team performed at Edgbaston in the second Test.
"To put together dominant performances in back-to-back Test matches is a credit to the team's hard work, but the key remains consistency throughout the duration of the series."
Former England off-spinner Miller added: "Tim Bresnan hasn't been named in the squad but will provide bowling cover just prior to the Test before returning to play for Yorkshire in their County Championship match against Durham."
Pakistan suffered a setback on Saturday when it was announced that wicketkeeper/batsman Zulqarnain Haider who made 80 on Test debut at Edgbaston, was doubtful for The Oval after suffering a finger injury.
Saturday also saw the second day of their two-day match against Worcestershire washed out completely.
But the third Test should see the return to the side of former captain and senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who made an unbeaten 40 against Worcestershire.
He was recalled ahead of the defeat at Edgbaston but was not selected after only arriving in England the day before the match.
Third in Pakistan's all-time list of Test run-scorers, Yousuf was initially omitted from the squad having been handed an indefinite ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board after captaining the side on their winless tour of Australia concluded earlier this year.
Yousuf has scored 7 431 runs at 53.07 including 12 hundreds in 88 Tests and against England has an average of 70.
Pakistan badly need more runs after being bowled out for record low scores against England of 80 and 72 at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston respectively.
England team:
Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steven Finn
Bowling cover: Tim Bresnan
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