Key to captain strong England A side

Robert Key has been named as captain of a strong England A side for their four-day match against the Sri Lankans at Worcester, as the preparations for the first Test at Lord's on May 11 step up another gear.

The fixture represents a radical departure from the established pattern for touring sides' warm-ups. In the past, visiting teams would often face second-string county attacks with key players rested, but the ECB has rightly taken the view that a chance for their reserve players to take on international opposition should not be squandered.

"This is the first opportunity an England A side has had to take on a touring side in this country," said England's chairman of selectors, David Graveney, "and it allows players who are currently on the fringe of the international arena to press for places in our Test and one-day sides."

The team includes six players who were selected for England's winter tours: Alastair Cook, Alex Loudon, Sajid Mahmood, Liam Plunkett and Owais Shah, together with Chris Tremlett, who had to withdraw from the Pakistan tour through injury. Key himself might have been called up in India had it not been for shoulder surgery, while Middlesex's Ed Joyce was mentioned in several dispatches after a successful season in 2005. Surrey's allrounder Rikki Clarke, meanwhile, played two Tests against Bangladesh in 2003-04.

Perhaps the most intriguing selection, however, is that of Chris Read - England's former wicketkeeper who has already scored two hundreds this season, one for Nottinghamshire v MCC in the season curtain-raiser at Lord's, and another in the rain-ruined match against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge last week.

Read, the best gloveman in the country, was axed from England's Test side two years ago after Duncan Fletcher voiced concerns about his batting, but another good show here and he could yet find himself pushing for Geraint Jones's Test place, which remains in jeopardy after another mixed winter.

A pace attack of Plunkett, Mahmood and Tremlett represents a three-way shootout between the likely lads of the next generation, and Sri Lanka's batsmen can expect a hostile reception when the match gets underway. For Tremlett, it will be an important chance to test his problematic knee, which held together successfully in the C&G victory over Ireland on Sunday.

Alex Loudon, the forgotten man of England's winter, gets another chance to push his credentials in a match situation, an especially timely opportunity given that England's leading spinner, Ashley Giles, is unavailable at least until the arrival of Pakistan.

Graveney confirmed that these contests are intended to become an integral part of the English season. "We also look forward to England A hosting Pakistan at Canterbury later in the summer," he said. "[They] will become an important yardstick for the selectors in measuring how our best young players shape up against top quality opposition."

England A Robert Key (capt), Alastair Cook, Owais Shah, Ed Joyce, Ravi Bopara, Alex Loudon, Rikki Clarke, Chris Read, Liam Plunkett, Chris Tremlett, Sajid Mahmood, Coach: Peter Moores, ECB National Academy Director