Ravi Bopara, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook lay wreaths at Ypres

England's Ashes squad have paid a two-day visit to Flanders Field in Belgium during which they visited war graves and attended a memorial service.

The players and management took time out from their preparations for the summer series to commemorate servicemen who lost their lives in World War I.

A stone cricket ball was laid at the grave of England and Kent bowler Colin Blythe, who died at Passchendaele.

"It was a deeply moving and humbling experience," said Andrew Strauss.

The skipper added: "It's important to take a step back from cricket at times.

"We learned a great deal about the sacrifices made by a previous generation of England cricketers, and I would like to thank the people of Ieper for making us so welcome."

Australia's cricketers paid a similar visit to France ahead of the 2005 Ashes series.

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