Sussex vice-captain James Kirtley was today left out of the England squad for the Test series against the West Indies.

The 15-man squad included just three specialist fast bowlers - James Anderson, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard - as well as all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

Kirtley, who played in the last two Tests in Sri Lanka before Christmas, has been included in the squad for the seven one-day internationals in the Caribbean which start on April 18.

It means he will miss the first four matches of Sussex's Championship defence against Surrey, Lancashire, Worcestershire and Northamptonshire.

The expected return to the Test squad of Glamorgan's Simon Jones was put on hold after the selectors left a place open for him providing he proves his fitness on the A tour to India which starts later this month.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: "As Simon has been out of first-class cricket for more than a year, we will be closely monitoring his form and fitness on the A tour with a view to adding him to the Test squad in the Caribbean."

England were happy to include Harmison after he was forced to miss the recent series in Sri Lanka with a side strain. Somerset's Richard Johnson has been left out because he is due to have surgery on his right knee.

Graveney added: "Andrew Caddick was not considered for selection for the West Indies tour as he needs time to complete his rehabilitation following back surgery. But his recovery is going according to plan and we hope he will be available for selection this summer."

The remainder of the tour squad was as expected. Paul Collingwood got the nod as the sixth specialist batsman while the two spinners remained unchanged following the retirement of Robert Croft from international cricket last week.

There was only one change from the 13-man one-day squad with Worcestershire's Vikram Solanki dropped after scoring just 11 runs in three innings in Bangladesh.