England stick with Morgan, no place for Bopara

Eoin Morgan has kept his place in the England squad for the first test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday, edging out Ravi Bopara despite his back-to-back centuries in a recent game with Yorkshire.

Eoin Morgan has kept his place in the England squad for the first test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday, edging out Ravi Bopara despite his back-to-back centuries in a recent game with Yorkshire.

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Morgan, an exciting one-day batsman, got his first chance in the long format of the game in a two-test series against Bangladesh and if he performs well could have a role to play in the Ashes later this year.

All-rounder Paul Collingwood and paceman Stuart Broad are back after being rested for the Bangladesh test series. Batsman Ian Bell is still recovering from a broken bone in his foot.

"Ian's absence provides other batsmen with the chance to impress against a world-class Pakistan bowling attack," national selector Geoff Miller said in a media release on Sunday.

Pakistan go into the match on a high after ending a long losing run against Australia with a three-wicket victory at Headingley on Saturday to square the series 1-1.

England squad: Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.