England name Tim Bresnan and Ian Bell in NatWest Series squad

England sprang two surprises this morning by naming the fit-again all-rounder Tim Bresnan and batsman Ian Bell in their NatWest Series squad. Bresnan returns, having missed last week's second npower Test against Bangladesh with a stress reaction in his left foot. The seamer was diagnosed with the injury after a lacklustre performance in the first Test at Lord's. But it was subsequently reported that the problem was not as serious as first feared, and Bresnan has clearly made a quick recovery. His presence in a 13-man squad to face Scotland and Australia and captained by Andrew Strauss means his fellow Yorkshireman Ajmal Shahzad misses out, despite an encouraging Test debut at Old Trafford. Bell, who last played an ODI in 2008, is back in the reckoning. He and Strauss are the only two players to be included who sat out England's Twenty20-winning Caribbean campaign in April and May. Among the other notable names in the ODI squad is the Sussex all-rounder Michael Yardy, as the second spinner – while as expected, Craig Kieswetter has been preferred to Matt Prior as the wicketkeeper-batsman. Prior is now likely to feature when the England Lions squad is named next week for matches against India A and West Indies A. England's national selector Geoff Miller said: "We have named a slightly smaller squad for this summer's NatWest Series than in previous years, because our own programme closely mirrors the England Lions' schedule for their triangular series. "We will draw on additional players from the Lions squad if required and will also consider using the Lions programme to give non-playing members of the one-day squad match practice where appropriate." England, trounced 6-1 by Australia in the NatWest Series which swiftly followed last summer's Ashes, have since improved – beating South Africa away under Strauss and then also winning in Bangladesh under Alastair Cook. Miller added: "We are very pleased with the progress our one-day squad has made under the leadership of Andrew Strauss and [the coach] Andy Flower over the past 18 months, and the challenge facing the squad now is to maintain the form they showed over the winter against the world's number one side in 50-over cricket." South Africa-born Kieswetter's inclusion was widely anticipated, thanks to his success so far as an attacking opening batsman in ODIs and the World Twenty20 – having become available to England only at the start of this year. "Craig Kieswetter made a century in only his third one-day international on the tour of Bangladesh and continued to impress during the World T20 tournament in the Caribbean," said Miller. "He has been earmarked for a role at the top of the order, and I am sure he will be relishing the opportunity to test himself against high-quality opposition. "We are also pleased to welcome back Ian Bell to the one-day squad. He has performed well for Warwickshire this season in limited-overs cricket and worked hard to add a more positive, attacking approach to his game in the 50-over format. "Michael Yardy's inclusion is a reward for performing consistently to a high level in the World T20 in the Caribbean and also reflects our longer-term planning for a World Cup in the Indian sub-continent next year, in which spin bowling will be a major feature." England squad to face Scotland and Australia AJ Strauss (captain, Middlesex), JM Anderson (Lancashire), TT Bresnan (Yorkshire), IR Bell (Warwickshire), SCJ Broad (Nottinghamshire), PD Paul Collingwood (Durham), C Kieswetter (wkt, Somerset), EJG Morgan (Middlesex), KP Pietersen (Hampshire), RJ Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), GP Swann (Nottinghamshire), LJ Wright (Sussex), MH Yardy (Sussex).