BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | Irani takes opportunity

Policy changes come and go, and it seemed that the wholehearted Essex allrounder's time had gone.

But the tragedy of Ben Hollioake's death in the spring has meant another lower order seamer had to be drafted in: the poignancy of the moment will not have escaped Irani.

There are few surprises in this squad. James Kirtley is restored after having remedial coaching on his bowling action under the auspices of Bob Cottam.

Ronnie Irani
Irani returns after a three-year break
And he has now been cleared - again - by the ECB after being reported in Zimbabwe last winter.

If his action is now free of suspicious kinks, his return should act as an incentive for the likes of Ruchira Perera, the Sri Lankan, who has found himself under a similar cloud recently.

Jeremy Snape has endured a rather strange season with Gloucestershire.

His sporadic appearances have, rightly or wrongly, been attributed to a fall-out with the coach, John Bracewell.

But Snape had a pretty good winter, is a genuine allrounder and Ashley Giles has a niggling back injury.

On that subject, Darren Gough returns after a lengthy absence.

Jeremy Snape
Snape has reportedly fallen out with his county coach
He needed keyhole surgery to his knee after the one day series in New Zealand, and has struggled to come back ever since.

He trained hard at Old Trafford last week but, frankly, still looked some distance away from full fitness.

Gough and Paul Collingwood, who has also had a knee problem, will both be assessed next Wednesday; ahead of England's opening match.

Alex Tudor's inclusion is an indication that England are now veering towards a policy of choosing Test players and conditioning them for the shortened form of the game.

This is reward for an encouraging display at Old Trafford and, of course, in the absence of Andy Caddick who faces a battle to be fit for the first Test against India.