England opt for all-seam attack

England have released left-arm spinner Ashley Giles from their 13-man squad, allowing him to travel to Edgbaston to play for Warwickshire in their Frizzell County Championship match against Hampshire.

It means that England will have an all-seam attack for tomorrow's first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's, a ground which has traditionally offered more assistance to seam bowlers. They can also call on Michael Vaughan to bowl off-spin if required.

The decision to release Giles was taken later than usual. The England coach, Duncan Fletcher, said yesterday: "We have not ruled out a spinner yet - normally we would have done by now but we've heard a few things and we're delaying our decision."

With the squad now reduced to 12, the only remaining decision appears to rest between Dominic Cork and Alex Tudor for the final bowling place in tomorrow's eleven.