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Cricket

Moores still undecided on England team for first Test in NZ

28/02/2008

England head coach Peter Moores has said he has only "an idea" of the starting XI he will name for the first Test against New Zealand next week.

Moores named a somewhat surprising lineup for the final warm-up match, including a preference for previously out-of-favour batsman Andrew Strauss as opposed to in-form Middlesex colleague Owais Shah.

Seamer Chris Tremlett got the nod in the attack alongside Matthew Hoggard, ahead of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, with Steve Harmison also included in a bid to gain some consistency with fellow paceman Ryan Sidebottom struggling to be fit.

The selection for the warm-up match has given rise to intense speculation over who will make the starting XI for the first Test in Hamilton.

And Moores admitted he hoped the performances in this week's three-day games would make some of his decisions easier.

"At the moment we're trying to finalise our team," he explained.

"We've had Owais with us for quite a long time and we've not seen much of Andrew so we've put a side out and that gives us a chance to look at players.

"We have an idea of what the Test match team will be but we're having a look at what options we have available.

"There's obviously been a debate about the Shah/Strauss batting position and bowling-wise we have quite an interesting decision.

"Steve came out late because of the birth of his child so we have to make sure he has enough bowling in him and that he's bowling well enough for the first Test.

"We've got to watch these guys bowl and make sure we put out the right attack that can bowl a side out twice and we need to identify that over the next six or seven days."

However, England's batsmen struggled on the first day of the warm-up match against a Select XI in Dunedin.

Only Kevin Pietersen, batting at number four, mounted any major resistance with a half-century, and Strauss failed to impress with a brief innings of five as the tourists were bowled out for 131.

The bowlers were similarly lacklustre - Harmison proved expensive with figures of 1-59 off his 12 overs, although Hoggard and Tremlett made better impressions on the selectors as they returned 1-32 off 14 overs and 1-50 off 13 overs, respectively.