Sidebottom in Squad for 4th Ashes Test, Flintoff Stay with Team

London: England included Andrew Flintoff in their squad for the fourth Ashes Test in the hope that the all-rounder is fit to face Australia in what could be the series decider starting Friday.

England picked 14 players in its squad Tuesday, one more than for the drawn third Test, with pace bowler Steve Harmison or left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom seemingly set to replace Flintoff at Headingley if he succumbs to his troublesome ankle injury.

Flintoff was arguably the key player in the second Test win that put England 1-0 up but failed to take a wicket in the last match and labored through 11 overs on Monday's final day.

With England hoping to regain the Ashes with victory in Leeds, national selector Geoff Miller said Flintoff's chances of playing were good.

Harmison has been on standby to fill in for Flintoff for the past two matches but is struggling with blisters on his foot. Sidebottom is effectively in the squad to cover for his fellow bowler.

Team director Andy Flower, however, is hopeful that Flintoff, who is retiring from Test cricket after the fifth and final Test, will be fit.

England also dropped spinner Monty Panesar after he was left out of the last two Tests and added Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott and Sidebottom.

The South African-born Trott, who averages 92.33 in 10 first-class county matches this season, is not in the squad as a replacement for the struggling Ravi Bopara but as an extra batsman.

"Ravi will bat at No.3 for us at Headingley, definitely," Flower said. "Trott will be there if we want a sixth batter."

While Australia could be bolstered by the return from injury of pace bowler Brett Lee and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, Miller said the bigger than usual squad will give Flower and captain Andrew Strauss greater flexibility when they come to name the team after assessing the state of the pitch.

"We've got the option for an extra batter if necessary," Miller said. "Jon's been part of the performance squad for a year or more now. He's done really well over the last year or so with the bat.

"The options are there for the captain and coach for what they want to go with on the morning of the game."

Squad: Andrew Strauss (c), Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, Jonathan Trott.