England announce 12 as Hussain returns to form

England have announced a 12 man squad for their opening match against Bangladesh in the ICCKnockOut tournament on the 5th October. The 12 does not contain Ashley Giles who hurt his leg during the practise match against Australia. This will be disappointing news for the England team with spin expected to play a crucial role in the tournament. It will also be a huge personal disappointment for Giles who has endured many games as England's 12th man, and looked set for a prominent role in Kenya.

Better news for England is the form of skipper, Nasser Hussain. Alec Stewart and Duncan Fletcher have both spoken of the improvement in his batting in recent days.

"Nasser has looked good," Stewart stated. "It was a great shot that got him off the mark yesterday, and it needed a fantastic catch to get rd of him."

"Since the season finished he has had a good break. He said he hadn't picked up a bat since the Oval Test. I think that is the right thing to do."

Fletcher agreed: "I am very happy with his form at present. He was hitting the ball well and starting to look very impressive."

Stewart and Fletcher also agreed that they didn't know too much about their opposition in the first match, Bangladesh.

"This is a bit like playing in the first round of the Nat-West against a minor county," Stewart confessed. "You expect to win and you need to have an arrogance, but you cannot afford to become complacent or you might come unstuck. I haven't a clue what they can do but the important thing is that we play well."

Fletcher admitted to having 'picked the brains' of Mark Alleyne, who captained England 'A against Bangladesh last winter.

"We have spoken to Mark about them quite a lot, and you can be sure we'll be speaking some more," he said.

The England coach also admitted to some pre-match nerves. "It is quite scary," said Fletcher, "because one-day knockout cricket is a dangerous game. If someone has a good day against you, you could play one game and be on the way home."

He declared himself pleased with the squad's hard work in the lead up to the game though. "They all really do have a good attitude. I have never been involved with a team who have put such a lot of work in at the start of a tour."

The 12 is: N Hussain (capt), A Stewart (wkt), M Trescothick, G Hick, G Thorpe, C White, M Alleyne, M Ealham, A Flintoff, D Gough, A Caddick, M Hoggard.