Jones inked in for first Test

England's coach, Duncan Fletcher, is not one to show his hand ahead of a major Test series, but he has nonetheless dropped a major hint that Simon Jones will be included for Thursday's first Test against West Indies at Sabina Park.

"There's a good chance for him," Fletcher told BBC Radio, before adding that Ashley Giles would certainly play as England's solitary spinner. "We're going to go with a spinner and four quickies. The big decision is between James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard."

Hoggard has made the greater impression so far on the tour, with three cheap wickets in the second-innings rout of the Vice-Chancellor's XI in Kingston last week, but if Anderson can recapture the form that catapulted him to stardom last winter, he would provide a subtle variation to a pace attack of Jones, Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison.

"It's important to get a good result out of this first Test," added Fletcher, as England attempt to win their first series in the Caribbean for 36 years. "It's going to be tight. Look at how strong their record is in Jamaica - they haven't lost here in their last five Tests, and have beaten the top sides. But there's always a first time, and we really believe we've got a bit of a chance here - as long as we bat well and we get a score to help the bowlers along."

Fletcher added that he had been impressed with the efforts of his bowlers, who arrived in the Caribbean as the supposed weak link in England's aspirations but have knuckled down to the task at hand. "Those young bowlers have done well and have really impressed me with the lines they've been bowling," he said. "We've got to get the balance right. That's going to be tricky. Picking an England side is always difficult. There never seems to be 11 certainties. If we get that right and the guys perform well they should get a good result out of this game."

Meanwhile Mark Butcher, who twisted his ankle in a freak accident during England's first warm-up match at Sabina Park, is almost certain to be passed fit after coming through a training session with no ill-effects. The news is a blow for Paul Collingwood, who scored a century in the same match to press his own claims, while Andrew Strauss, who flew out as additional cover after Graham Thorpe's back spasm, is currently surplus to requirements. On an England cricket tour, however, all that can change in the blink of an eye.

England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

West Indies squad Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ricardo Powell, Ryan Hinds, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Adam Sanford, Tino Best, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards.