Flintoff would have been in Lord's squad says coach

By John Mehaffey

LONDON (Reuters) - All-rounder Andy Flintoff would have been selected in the squad for the first test against New Zealand if he had not suffered yet another injury setback, England coach Peter Moores said on Tuesday.

Flintoff, 30, played only one test last year because of his troubled left ankle which eventually required a fourth operation.

He has bowled with high pace and hostility for Lancashire this year but has now been sidelined by a side strain.

"He would have been in the squad if he had been fit," Moores told a news conference at Lord's where England will host New Zealand from Thursday in the first of a three-match series.

"It would have given us a chance to assess him first hand. The decision whether he was fit to play in the test match was a decision we would have had to make but we would have included him in the squad."

Moores said Flintoff could have been part of a four-man attack, supplemented by Paul Collingwood's medium pace.

New Zealand upset England in the first of a three-test series at home this year, prompting the selectors to drop their two senior pace bowlers Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard in favour of Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

Both played significant roles in England's recovery to win the series 2-0 and, although Hoggard has been included in a 12-man squad for Lord's, there is as yet no way back for Harmison.