Dominic Cork has been drafted into the England squad for Saturday's NatWest Series final at Lord's. Cork, 30, is in for the injured James Kirtley, who dislocated his hand in the nets, and will join up with the squad when they practice at Lord's on Thursday.

"Dominic continues to be in fine form for his county," said David Graveney, the chairman of England's selectors. "And if he is called upon to play on Saturday, his big-match experience at international level will stand him in good stead."

Cork played in the first Test of the summer, against Sri Lanka at Lord's, but has not featured since. He was unsurprisingly thrilled to be called up. "I am delighted the selectors have recognised that I have a role to play as a one-day player," he said. "And it will be tremendous to be involved with the squad in the run-up to a Lord's final.

"Lord's has been a happy ground for me in the past, and I feel that I have been bowling and batting well this summer. If I do make the final XI this Saturday, it will be a good opportunity for me to show what I can do - especially as there is a World Cup coming up this winter."

When he came onto the scene in the early 1990s, Cork was bracketed as something of a one-day player. He made his one-day debut in 1992, three years before his first Test appearance. But he has actually played more Tests (35) than one-dayers (30).

His last ODI appearance was in last summer's NatWest Series, against Pakistan at Headingley, but before that he had not played one-day cricket since the New Zealand tour of 1996-97.

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