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England drop Ramprakash for SA tour

Mark Ramprakash has been left out of England's Test squad for the winter tour of South Africa.

The Middlesex captain is the only regular member of the England top order to miss out today despite their repeated failures during the recent 2-1 series defeat by New Zealand.

He has also been excluded from the one-day squad which will play a triangular tournament against South Africa and Zimbabwe after the Test series.

Former captain Alec Stewart, 36, whose international career was thought to be finished, is in the 17-man Test squad as are newcomers Chris Adams, Graeme Swann, Michael Vaughan and Scotland World Cup player Gavin Hamilton.

England have included fast bowlers Darren Gough and Alex Tudor despite the fact that both have missed much of the season through injury.

England will play a five-Test series in South Africa before contesting the limited-overs tournament with South Africa and Zimbabwe. They then fly to Zimbabwe for a four-match one-day series.

The party arrives in South Africa on November 1 and will play the first Test on November 25. The final Test begins on January 14 and the triangular series lasts from January 23 to February 13.

The Zimbabwe leg of the trip will last from February 16 to 23.

The Test team:
Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Mike Atherton, Chris Read, Chris Adams, Gavin Hamilton, Michael Vaughan, Darren Maddy, Alec Stewart, Andy Flintoff, Dean Headley, Graeme Swann, Alex Tudor, Darren Gough, Alan Mullally, Andy Caddick, Phil Tufnell.

The one-day team:
Hussain, Adams, Mark Alleyne, Caddick, Mark Ealham, Flintoff, Gough, Ashley Giles, Hamilton, Graeme Hick, Nick Knight, Maddy, Mullally, Read, Vikram Solanki.

UNI