Friday 19 June 2015 14:26, UK
England have arranged a pre-Ashes camp in Spain, with Derbyshire pace bowler Mark Footitt a surprise inclusion in the 14-man training squad.
Footitt, a left-armer who took 82 wickets in the County Championship last year to make him the highest wicket-taker in Division Two figures, joins a list of established international performers in the squad.
Ian Bell has also been included after being left out of the ODI squad to play New Zealand in order to have more time in the middle with Warwickshire in a bid to improve his recent poor run with the bat.
The training camp will last for four days from Saturday June 27 and Director of England cricket Andrew Strauss believes it will be helpful in giving new head coach Trevor Bayliss an opportunity to meet with some of his key players.
“With Trevor Bayliss arriving in the country next Thursday, Trevor, Alastair (Cook) and I felt it important that both players and management likely to be involved in the early stages of the Investec Ashes have a chance to meet him and fully understand his approach prior to meeting up for the start of the Test series,” Strauss said in an official ECB statement.
“With that in mind, we have arranged a preparation camp in Spain. This will involve a combination of physical and fielding sessions and planning meetings in an informal environment in order to provide the best possible lead up to the first Test in Cardiff.
"The squad for the first Test will be announced within a few of days of returning from the camp."
Footitt took a remarkable 82 Championship wickets last season and 106 in all competitions, the most by a Derbyshire player since 1965.
He has claimed 32 more Championship victims this year and is one of just three bowlers to have taken more than 100 since the beginning of the 2014 campaign.
Reflecting on his selection for the training squad, he said: "It's nice to receive this level of recognition for the hard work over the last 18 months.
"It's a great opportunity for me to show the England coaching staff first-hand what I am about and I hope I can impress and stake my claim for a place in the final Ashes squad.
"International cricket is massive and I think if you ask any county cricketer they would want to play for England. It would be an honour to get a chance to represent my country in the Ashes."
The opening Ashes Test at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff begins on July 8.
England's pre-Ashes training camp squad:
Alastair Cook
Moeen Ali
James Anderson
Gary Ballance
Ian Bell
Stuart Broad
Jos Buttler
Steven Finn
Mark Footitt
Adam Lyth
Liam Plunkett
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Mark Wood
Watch coverage of the entire Ashes series on the dedicated Sky Sports Ashes channel.