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    The England Record sixth Test in a row

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    England set a world record by naming an unchanged team on Wednesday for the sixth Test in a row to meet South Africa in the opening match of a four-Test series starting at Lord's on Thursday.

    "Everyone's fit and we'll be playing the same team that played at Trent Bridge," captain Michael Vaughan told a news conference.

    England completed a 2-0 series win over New Zealand at the Nottingham ground.


    Vaughan missed the final part of his county Yorkshire's four-day match against Durham after stiffness and pain in his his troubled right knee, which has required four operations.


    He said on Wednesday the joint had been injected with a lubricant and he would be fully fit for Thursday's Test.

    "It's fine," he said. "It just needs monitoring. I played a four-day game and there was a little bit of aggravation towards the end of the game. It's no different to how we've managed it in the last year. It just needed a few days to have this lubricant put into the knee."


    All-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who has not played test cricket since the final Ashes Test in Australia early last year because of injury, practised with the England team at the indoor nets at Lord's as steady rain fell over the ground.


    FLINTOFF CLOSE
    "We want him back in the England team," Vaughan said. "He's here today practising just to get his foot in, we know he's not far away. How we get him in the team, we will have to decide on that once he's become available and had enough cricket."


    Vaughan said Flintoff could be available for the second Test starting at Headingley in Leeds on July 18.


    "He feels in decent spirits, he says he's getting better," he added.

    Turning to South Africa, Vaughan said they had enjoyed a wonderful past 12 months.

    "They are a very settled team, they have got a good blend of experience and youth," he said.
    "Obviously, it will bring a different proposition in terms of the bowling attack, a lot more pacy, different angles. Dale Steyn is number two in the world so that will be a big threat to the batsmen. I always think that a South African series is nearly up there with the Ashes. It's always a really big series for the guys to play in. Always hard-fought contests, very, very tough, what Test match cricket is about."


    England - Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson.
    BEST ODI TEAM: 1. Australia 2. South Africa 3. England 4. New Zealand 5. India 6. Pakistan 7. Sri Lanka 8. WestIndies 9. Bangladesh 10.Ireland 11.Zimbabwe 12.Kenya ....... ICC Official Rankings: BEST TEST TEAM : 1. Australia 2. South Africa 3. India 4. Sri Lanka 5. England 6. Pakistan 7. New Zealand 8. West Indies 9. Bangladesh ....... Best Batsmen - Test: 1. M.E.K. Hussey (AUS) 2. R.T. Ponting (AUS) 3. K.C. Sangakkara (SL) 4. Mohammad Yousuf (PAK) 5. S. Chanderpaul (WI) 6. J.H. Kallis (SA) 7. M.L. Hayden (AUS) 8. D.P.M.D. Jayawardena (SL) 9. Younis Khan (PAK) 10. K.P. Pietersen (ENG) ........ Best Bowler - Test : 1.M. Muralidaran (SL) 2. D.W. Steyn (SA) 3. S.R. Clark (AUS) 4. B. Lee (AUS) 5. M. Ntini (SA) 6. R.J. Sidebottom (ENG) 7. W.P.U.J.C. Vaas (SL) 8. A. Kumble (IND) 9. Shoaib Akhtar (PAK) 10. S.E. Bond (NZ) ........ Best Batsmen - ODI: 1. G.C. Smith (SA) 2. S.R. Tendulkar (IND) 3. R.T. Ponting (AUS) 4. Mohammad Yousuf (PAK) 5. S. Chanderpaul (WI) 6. M.L. Hayden (AUS) 7. M.E.K. Hussey (AUS) 8. K.P. Pietersen (ENG) 9. A.B. de Villiers (SA) 10. M.S. Dhoni (IND) ........ Best Bowler - ODI: 1. D.L. Vettori (NZ) 2. N.W. Bracken (AUS) 3. S.E. Bond (NZ) 4. K.D. Mills (NZ) 5. W.P.U.J.C. Vaas (SL) 6. A. Nel (SA) 7. D.B. Powell (WI) 8. E. Taylor (WI) 9. B. Lee (AUS) 10. Shahid Afridi (PAK) ...... and more and more, here and only here..