Bicknell 'stunned' at call-up

Martin Bicknell admitted that he was amazed to be recalled to the England squad ten years after the last of his two Tests. Bicknell was one of two new faces in the 13-man squad for the Headingley Test - Worcestershire's Kabir Ali was the other.

"I was pretty stunned when I was told the news," Bicknell told Sky Sports. "Two or three years ago my name was mentioned and I thought I had a chance of playing, but didn't and I thought that was it - my chance had gone.

"The news came as a bit of a shock, I thought someone was having a laugh. I know there are a few injuries around and if I can get onto the pitch I can hopefully do myself proud. This season I've been doing OK, but I've had better seasons and my focus has been on Surrey. I've not really given England a thought but if I get my chance I won't let anyone down."

Bicknell has been a cornerstone of the Surrey side that has won the County Championship three times in the last four seasons, and leads this one. In his two Tests he took four wickets at an average of 65.75 with a best of 3 for 99 at Edgbaston. He also played seven one-day internationals, all on tour in Australasia in 1990-91.

David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors, admitted that Bicknell was a "horses for courses" pick, with the Headingley pitch expected to favour seamers. "Bicknell is one of the unluckier players not to be selected before," Graveney explained. "He is a very consistent performer for Surrey and has been an integral part of their success over the last few years. He is very experienced and we do have a young attack - it is not the age but how you bowl that matters."

Whether Bicknell or Kabir Ali get their chance depends on whether Steve Harmison can recover from the calf strain he picked up during the Trent Bridge Test. Although he bowled in the final innings, Harmison is rated no more than 50/50 to be fit, and Graveney said that he was not going to be risked. "The indications given to me are that there are serious doubts about the way he was moving around here and 48 hours is not a very long time to recover from that sort of injury.

"His calf is the same as it was yesterday, but it would be foolhardy of us to send him into a Test match where there was any semblance of doubt about his fitness because if he broke down we would be putting a lot of responsibility on only three bowlers."