Kent spinner James Tredwell has been recalled by England for the Test Series against Sri Lanka in March and April.

Tredwell, who celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday, was overlooked for England’s recent tour against Pakistan, but has been recalled to the side, almost two years after his one and only Test against Bangladesh in March 2010.

The off-spinner took six wickets in that game, but was cast back into the international wilderness by England shortly after.

Tredwell will be one of four spinners in the England sixteen man party alongside Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar with Samit Patel included for the first time, while surprisingly Eoin Morgan has been dropped after a poor series against Pakistan.

While the main squad will depart for Sri Lanka on 10 March, seven members of the squad will travel to Sri Lanka ahead of the main touring party to acclimatise and begin preparations for the Test series. England batting coach Graham Gooch will lead the training camp involving Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Steven Davies, Monty Panesar, Samit Patel, Matt Prior and James Tredwell.

National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “We have selected a squad that we feel will be able to make best use of the conditions we are likely to encounter in Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that this Test series will be a challenging one but it is exciting that players have an opportunity to demonstrate that they have learnt from the disappointment of the Pakistan Test series and can make further strides in developing the skills needed to succeed on the subcontinent.”

Tredwell’s inclusion in England’s Test squad will now mean he will miss Kent’s pre-season tour to Antigua, along with the opening couple of games of the new season.

 

England Test squad

Andrew Strauss  (Captain) (Middlesex)

James  Anderson (Lancashire)

Ian Bell (Warwickshire)

Ravi Bopara (Essex)

Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)

Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)

Alastair Cook (Essex)

Steven Davies (Surrey)

Steven Finn (Middlesex)

Monty Panesar (Sussex)

Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)

Kevin Pietersen (Surrey)

Matt Prior (Sussex)

Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)

James Tredwell (Kent)

Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)

 

Fixtures

15-17 March      vs Sri Lanka Board XI, Colombo

20-22 March      vs Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI, Colombo

 

26 March           1st Test  Galle International Stadium

3 April               2nd Test P Sara Oval, Colombo