England, seeking to regain the Ashes they lost 5-0 in 2006-07, will meet Australia for the first of five Tests at Cardiff on Wednesday and Harmison will now have to wait for an opportunity later in the series.

“We knew what direction we wanted to go,” national selector Geoff Miller told Sky Sports television. “Graham Onions was picked, on what he’s done over the last two Test matches and his consistency in county cricket as well, ahead of Steve Harmison.”

The selectors showed consistency in their squad choice and opted to keep Harmison’s Durham team mate Onions in the squad after he impressed in his first two matches against West Indies in May.

Harmison, dropped by England during the West Indies tour earlier this year, played for England Lions against Australia in a four-day match at Worcester which ended on Saturday, troubling the Australian batsmen with his ability to bowl awkward, bouncing deliveries in excess of 90 miles per hour. Opener Phillip Hughes was dismissed by such a ball from Harmison in both innings for two single figure scores, as the Englishman took four for 80 and two for 55 in the match.

“It was encouraging to see how he bowled but the Ashes is not a sprint, it’s a long marathon,” Miller said. “There is a lot of cricket to be played. Steve showed us maybe what they are susceptible to. But we also have other bowlers in that squad who can bowl similar deliveries.” Ian Bell was included as the extra batsman, while left-arm spinner Monty Panesar was recalled to give the possibility of playing two slow players at Cardiff, with Graeme Swann the other spinner in the list.

Australia are yet to name their team from the 16-man tour squad. Their main dilemma seems to be whether to choose front-line spinner Nathan Hauritz, who has struggled in the two tour games, or play Stuart Clark as a fourth fast bowler.

‘Flintoff let the team down’

Andy Flower has no qualms in admitting that Andrew Flintoff’s latest indiscretion has let the team down. Asked if he felt let down after Flintoff missed the bus for the team’s pre-Ashes bonding trip to the trenches near Ypres, Flower said, “Yes, (England captain) Andrew Strauss has made player responsibility a very big part of our game and we’ve come along very well in that regard.”

Flower sought to put a lid on the episode and said, “This incident was disappointing but we’ve all made mistakes. It’s not the end of the world for Fred to make one. But it is important to learn from it,” he told Daily Mail.

England squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann.