Miller revels in tough call as Morgan edges Bopara
NATIONAL selector Geoff Miller admits he was forced into making a number of difficult decisions on announcing the England squad for Thursday’s first Test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge.
In-form Essex batsman Ravi Bopara was the most notable absentee, losing out to Middlesex’s Eoin Morgan, while fast bowler Ajmal Shahzad got the nod over all-rounder Tim Bresnan.
Kevin Pietersen is back in the side after recovering from injury, while spinner Graeme Swann and seamer Steven Finn also return from breaks.
Defending his decisions, Miller said: “We have got good competition and healthy competition for places so there were always going to be issues and some difficult decisions to be made.
“Bopara has been playing really well but we want to see a bit more from Eoin, he played well for Middlesex in his last game. Yes, we want to win this match and win this series but we have an eye on the winter as well and we have got to make sure that the equation is sorted, so Eoin keeps his place.”
ENGLAND | TEST SQUAD
Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood,
Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, Ajmal Shahzad