November 07 Thursday 2002
England turn to White; Aussies axe Lee

BRISBANE: England selected Craig White ahead of the struggling Andrew Flintoff for the first Ashes Test against Australia starting at the Gabba on Thursday: Flintoff, who has been battling to recover from a hernia operation, failed a fitness test on Wednesday for the first game of the five-Test series.

Australia, meanwhile, dropped fast bowler Brett Lee and replaced him with veteran paceman Andy Bichel. England coach Duncan Fletcher said: "We had a tough choice... We just felt that the first test has come round a couple of days too early for Andrew following his comeback."

White will complement a three-man pace attack including young pace bowler Simon Jones, while left-arm spinner Ashley Giles was also picked. White was not originally chosen in the Ashes squad but was called up from Adelaide, where he was playing grade cricket, as cover for Flintoff.

Both played in last weekend's three-day match against Queensland in Brisbane but Flintoff complained of being sore afterwards. White had had his own injury problems. Following back pains, he was recalled for the opening two tests against India this summer only to suffer an abdominal strain after scoring an unbeaten 94 at Trent Bridge.

Lee and Bichel, meanwhile, were left fighting for the last fast bowler's spot when Jason Gillespie was declared fit after missing the last two tests against Pakistan. In an unusual move, Waugh revealed Lee would be allowed to leave the test squad in Brisbane to play in a first-class match in Sydney despite being officially named as 12th man.

"We've always considered the 12 should stay together but times have changed a bit and it necessitates a change of thinking," Waugh said. "We just thought it was unfair for the guys who were continually not playing cricket." Teams: England - Nasser Hussain (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, Alec Stewart, John Crawley, Craig White, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones.

Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee (12th man).