LONDON, 1 June 2005 — England’s Graham Thorpe will win his 100th cap in the second and final Test against Bangladesh starting on Friday but the middle order batsman has been warned he is not assured of a place for the Ashes Tests.

England yesterday named the same 12-man squad that beat Bangladesh by an innings and 261 runs in three days at Lord’s last week.

Off-spinner Gareth Batty, who did not bowl or bat in the first Test, retains his place for the game in Durham as Ashley Giles has not recovered from a hip injury.

Uncapped Gloucestershire seamer Jon Lewis has been named in both the Test squad and the squad for the one-day triangular series against Australia and Bangladesh.

Thorpe, 35, recently announced he would play for and coach New South Wales in the Southern Hemisphere summer, effectively ruling him out of touring with England.

“We were a bit disappointed by the timing (of the announcement),” said chairman of selectors David Graveney.

“But the most important thing is whether Graham Thorpe is the right person to play in the best team. I am delighted for him (that) he is in this squad and will play his 100th Test.

“But he will know he has to maintain his form throughout the summer. There are a lot of pretenders out there — Kevin Pietersen, Robert Key — who are challenging for those spots.”

Pietersen’s omission from the first Test, after his superlative one-day form on the tour of South Africa, surprised many in the English game.

“Kevin will challenge obviously because he’s a talent and Robert Key was probably unlucky to be left out,” Graveney told Sky Sports News. “We have tried to have consistency with our selection over the last few years.”

Whatmore Fearful of

Durham Drubbing

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore has said his side could be in for an even bigger thrashing than last week’s innings and 261 run first Test defeat at Lord’s when the second and final match of the series starts at Durham’s Riverside ground. “You might think things couldn’t get any worse, but we fully expect the Durham Test to be harder,” Whatmore told BBC Sport Online yesterday following what was the 10th biggest innings defeat in Test history.

Whatmore, the former Australia international who went on to coach Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup before taking charge at English county Lancashire, added: “We’re looking to show a lot more fight, but we’re not going to expect any favors — England are going to come at us again.

“England’s confidence is even further elevated while we have to pick up the pieces. If they prepare a wicket that’s a bit sporty it’s going to be extremely difficult, particularly if we lose the toss and have to bat first — most people fancy their chances against Bangladesh.”