KEY POINTS:
Expect a quieter England team when they arrive for their two-month tour of New Zealand at the end of this month.
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior has surprisingly been dumped, paying the price for sloppy glovework on the losing trip to Sri Lanka before Christmas.
Prior followed the noisy Paul
Nixon into the England side and maintained his predecessor's penchant for spouting drivel in the middle. A test batting average of 40, a century on debut and two half centuries in his last four innings could not save him.
In his 10 tests, Prior dropped nine reasonable catches and missed two stumpings. That's unacceptable in anyone's language.
And there's a curious aspect to the axing of South African-born Prior for Tim Ambrose, who was born in New South Wales.
Ambrose, nicknamed "Freak", was Prior's understudy at Sussex but a few seasons ago headed for Warwickshire, believing Prior had shut the door on his immediate future prospects.
The naming of the England parties - 16 in both the test and ODI squads - vindicates Ambrose's decision. He's regarded as a combative type, averages 34 in first-class cricket and is rated a superior wicketkeeper to Prior.
That's not to say he's outstanding, just better than Prior, and maintains England's policy of picking keepers on batting form rather than going for the outstanding practitioner.
Ambrose will have to hold off another challenger to get the test job, with Durham's Phil Mustard also on the trip, primarily to play the ODIs.
Both are 25, the same age as Prior, but the best keeper in England is Chris Read, who played in the rebel Indian Cricket League. The English board's stance is the same as New Zealand's - take an ICL contract and others will be preferred in national team selection.
Lefthand opener Andrew Strauss, preparing for the State Shield with Northern Districts, is back in the test squad, and that poses a potential problem, with captain Michael Vaughan and Alistair Cook having formed a decent opening pair.
Two spinners are in the test 16 - left armer Monty Panesar and offspinner Graeme Swann - with five quicks, spearheaded by back-in-favour Steve Harmison vying for selection.
* Meanwhile, England's plans to host the world Twenty20 championship next year are in jeopardy with the British Government indicating it will ban Zimbabwe's players from entering the country.
The International Cricket Council made it a condition of hosting that all 10 test-playing nations must take part.
"We haven't had to deal with a situation whereby a country isn't allowed by the host's Government to take part in an ICC event," ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said. "If that happens, the board would have to take whatever action it deems necessary."
* ENGLAND SQUADS
Tests: Michael Vaughan (c, Yorkshire), Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), Alastair Cook (Essex), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Keven Pietersen (Hampshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire), Phil Mustard (Durham), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Yorkshire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Steve Harmison (Durham).
TEST SCHEDULE
March 5-9: First test, Hamilton
March 13-17: Second test, Wellington
March 22-26: Third test, Napier
ODIs: Collingwood (c), Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Shah, Ravi Bopara (Essex), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Ambrose, Mustard, James Tredwell (Kent), Luke Wright (Sussex), Sidebottom, Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Broad, Anderson, Swann.
ODI SCHEDULE
Feb 9: First ODI, Wellington Feb 12: Second ODI, Hamilton
Feb 15: Third ODI, Auckland Feb 20: Fourth ODI, Napier
Feb 23: Fifth ODI, Christchurch
