Strauss rested from Twenty20 duty

England's Test captain, Andrew Strauss, will play no part in Middlesex's Twenty20 Cup campaign, after it was decided by the England management that he should concentrate solely on first-class cricket ahead of the Ashes, which begins in Cardiff on July 8.

Despite his current fine form in both Tests and 50-over internationals, Strauss opted to stand down from England's World Twenty20 squad because the format didn't suit his accumulative style. Now, despite Middlesex being the reigning Twenty20 Cup champions, he will remain on the sidelines until the resumption of the County Championship on June 6.

"Andrew Strauss will not take part in Middlesex's Twenty20 Cup campaign in order to focus on the longer form of the game ahead of the Ashes," the England team director, Andy Flower, said in a press release.

Strauss is one of four players currently involved in the ODI series against West Indies who will be unavailable to their counties ahead of the forthcoming World Twenty20. The England new-ball pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have also been told to rest, along with Matt Prior, who is not in the Twenty20 squad, but who damaged his right ring finger during the closing stages of the second Test in Chester-le-Street.

"Anderson and Broad will be rested from this week's Twenty20 Cup fixtures due to their recent heavy workloads … against West Indies," Flower said. "We believe they will benefit from a brief rest ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. Prior will be rested from the Twenty20 Cup as he needs to allow time for his injured finger to recover properly."

Prior and Strauss will be available to Sussex and Middlesex respectively for their County Championship fixtures against Yorkshire and Essex, starting on June 6. For the remaining 13 players involved in England's Twenty20 campaign, they will be permitted to turn out for their counties from Wednesday through till Friday, before joining up with the national squad on Saturday.

Paul Collingwood (capt, Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), James Foster (Essex), Robert Key (Kent), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Napier (Essex), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).