Pietersen fit for Ashes selection

Kevin Pietersen has been cleared of any serious injury after a scan on his groin revealed only a minor strain. He was forced to sit out most of Australia's innings during England's loss in the third game of the NatWest Challenge, but has now been cleared and is available for selection for the first Test of the Ashes. The squad will be named on Thursday morning at Lord's.

Pietersen is fighting for a place with Graham Thorpe, and David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, told the BBC Today show that picking the squad would pose some problems. "I'm a big fan of both of them," said Graveney, "It's the young emerging player against the seasoned player who's had a lot of experience."

Thorpe, who recently recovered from a back injury, staked his claim by scoring 73 for Surrey against Gloucestershire, on his return to county cricket. Pietersen replied with a defiant 74 against Australia at the Oval.

Pietersen is hopeful that the innings will find him a place in the Test squad: "I think I have done enough and hopefully it goes my way when they pick the team," he told AFP, "I just think I've ticked enough boxes in terms of what I had to do. I knew that this was a massive game at The Oval. I'll be very disappointed if I'm not selected. I was disappointed to miss out against Bangladesh, but I knew these one-dayers would be instrumental in getting me involved in the squad that's picked this week.

And he says he has been given a taste of the sledging he will face if he does make the Test squad: "There were a lot of shouts from the fielders saying, 'This is Test match cricket, can you hack it? Hopefully, I proved to them I'll be a difficult wicket to get if selected."

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, welcomed the dilemma facing the selectors. "You want as many players as possible to pick from, and we are quite fortunate we have plenty to pick from for Test match cricket," said Vaughan "I think Kevin has given the selectors a big headache, and that is all you can ever ask as selectors and a management team."