Andrew Strauss set for England return but key men may be rested

Strauss has been out of the England picture since the end of the South Africa tour, having opted to skip the subsequent trip to Bangladesh and retired from Twenty20 internationals.

But he will return to lead the side out at Lord's on Thursday, reclaiming the captaincy from opening partner Alastair Cook in the process.

Strauss's decision to opt out of the visits to Dhaka and Chittagong earned plenty of column inches, while a number of former internationals were openly critical of the move.

But with the demands of international cricket expanding all the time and the fixture list swelling by the year, team director Andy Flower is committed to a policy of intermittent rests for his most active players.

Speaking as his side returned to British soil following their ICC World Twenty20 triumph, Flower said: "We have a very busy 12 months ahead of us and we are going to have to rest players at various times.

"In certain situations it is possible that we will have to rest some players either for emotional reasons such as stress, and sometimes it will be for strength and conditioning reasons. With our schedule it will be hard to fit enough strength and conditioning in."

Given how little time the England side had between their Caribbean triumph and the return visit of the Tigers, it is hard not to read those comments as a preemptive strike by the hierarchy, aimed at explaining some key absences for the forthcoming series.

Stuart Broad and Paul Collingwood are the men most likely to be asked to sit out. Neither one is likely to jump at the chance – Broad has spoken about his desire to play every possible game for his country, while 33-year-old Collingwood knows he may not have too many more Lord's Tests in front of him.

But Flower is a persuasive presence and his motives are designed exclusively to keep his first-choice players in peak condition for the winter double of an Ashes series followed by a sub-continental World Cup.

Broad and Collingwood both play in all three formats for England and expect one or both to be absent when Strauss leads the side out next week, even if they are retained as part of the squad.

Should Collingwood be overlooked in the final analysis, Ravi Bopara should edge out the claims of Eoin Morgan, who has yet to prove himself in first-class cricket despite making waves in the limited-overs arena. Bopara yesterday boosted his chances of a Test recall, rounding off a seven-wicket haul as England Lions crushed Bangladesh in three days in the tour match at Derby.

Bopara finished with four for 14 in the innings and seven for 23 in the match and then took the Lions to the brink of a nine-wicket victory before he was bowled in the final over before lunch for 28. Lions skipper Cook hit an unbeaten 42 from 55 balls as his team easily chased down a target of 86.

Possible England squad: Strauss (c), Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood (or Bopara), Prior (wkt), Bresnan, Swann, Anderson, Sidebottom, Finn.