The England selectors made a double announcement on Thursday, naming the squads for the July 10 Lord’s Test and also a 30-man squad for the ICC event in September.

Key all-rounder Flintoff has been back for about ten days after recovering from a side strain but the selectors clearly ant to see him bowl some more and score a few more runs for Lancashire before they ‘risk’ him in a Test.

It was an unchanged Test squad from the side that defeated New Zealand 2-0 in the recent npower Test Series. Should England settle on the same XI for the opening Test against South Africa it will become the first-ever country to name an unchanged line-up for six consecutive Test matches.

“The England Test side has won four of its past five matches and most recently the Test series against New Zealand so we feel there’s no need to change a winning formula,” England Selector Geoff Miller said.

“There have been a number of players pushing for selection in recent weeks which is extremely pleasing but consistency in selection and consistency in performance has led us to maintain the same squad for the first npower Test against South Africa.

“Andrew Flintoff has worked extremely hard to be back playing some very good cricket for Lancashire which is a credit to his determination and patience.

“The selectors are keen to see Andrew get more overs under his belt and spend some more time in the middle before recalling him to the Test side. We’re all eager to see him back playing for England but there’s nothing to be gained from rushing him back until he has proved he’s ready to meet the demands of Test cricket.

“There is a lot of cricket on the horizon and we want Andrew to be a part of that without jeopardising his fitness.”

England’s Champions Trophy squad comprises five players yet to be capped at one-day international level, including Michael Carberry, Graeme Onions, Samit Patel, Darren Pattinson, and James Tredwell.

Worcestershire seamer Jones, a vital ingredient in England’s 2005 Ashes series win, was the standout selection, along with Grimsby–born former Victorian seamer Darren Pattinson.

“Although the 30-man ICC Champions Trophy squad is extensive it contains some exceptional talent and a strong mix of youth and experience”, added Miller.

“The ICC Champions Trophy will give us the chance to test our one-day international side against the best in the world and I know the players will be looking forward to the challenge of improving our current ODI ranking.

“We will continue to monitor performance in the lead up to narrowing the squad to a final number of 15.”

England’s ICC Champions Trophy squad will be reduced to 15 by August 11. The ICC Champions Trophy commences on September 11 with England’s opening match against Sri Lanka to be played at Karachi on September 14.

England Test squad:
Michael Vaughan, Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett

England’s 30-man ICC Champions Trophy Squad:
Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Michael Carberry, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones, Ed Joyce, Robert Key, Sajid Mahmood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Samit Patel, Darren Pattinson, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright