Fletcher determined to rest top players

After five days of deliberations, England coach Duncan Fletcher has decided to remain firm on the decision to rest all 10 players involved in both the one-day and Test winter tour squads for the final two rounds of County Championship matches. Fletcher had initially considered allowing some players to appear for their counties after the end of the current final Test against West Indies at The Oval. But now he has decided to sideline the players for the remainder of the season.

The 10 who will be rested are captain Nasser Hussain, Andrew Caddick, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Graeme Hick, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe and Craig White. They will go with the rest of the 14-man one-day squad for the ICC Trophy Tournament in Kenya on September 25 and, once England's involvement in the competition is completed, will then proceed to Pakistan for the start of the two-month winter tour.

Some counties were hoping exceptions would be made if they were in the running for the championship, chasing promotion or attempting to avoid relegation. But Fletcher decided the rest would be a better alternative. Even all-rounder Flintoff, who has to prove his bowling fitness during the tournament in Kenya or face being replaced in the Test squad by Surrey's Alex Tudor, has been denied the chance to play for Lancashire in their final two home matches against Somerset and top of the table county Surrey.