England have opted for Craig White as their all-rounder in the first Ashes Test against Australia, which starts in Brisbane tomorrow. The Yorkshireman is preferred to Andrew Flintoff, who has played just one first-class match since returning from a double hernia operation two months ago.

White was added to the England squad last month as cover for Flintoff from Adelaide, where he was playing grade cricket. The decision to play him followed a consultation between coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Nasser Hussain with physio Kirk Russell.

Flintoff had admitted to feeling stiff after bowling 18 overs on the first day of this week's drawn tour match with Queensland, and again seemed to be struggling in the nets this morning.

"We had a tough choice to make in the all-rounder position between Andrew Flintoff and Craig White," Fletcher explained. "But we just felt that the first Test has come round a couple of days too early for Andrew following his comeback from a hernia operation.

"He's still feeling some stiffness after the three-day match against Queensland and we had concerns about how his body would react to the demands of a five-day game."

For White, it is another chance at the top level after he lost his place at the start of this year. Having played no part in the series in New Zealand, he was recalled for the first two Tests against India last summer but suffered a side strain after scoring an unbeaten 94 at Trent Bridge.

White's ability to play top-class spin also weighed in his favour, as England prepare to face the great Shane Warne, who has taken 118 wickets in just 23 Ashes Tests, and more Test wickets at the Gabba than any other player.

"Great bowlers will bowl well on any day, but we're a lot more confident against spin," said Fletcher. "I think we're getting better at facing it, but we're coming up against Shane Warne, who's a different type of bowler.

"We've mainly been playing against off-break bowlers and now he's a leg-break bowler and we've probably got to go through another bit of a new learning curve, although we have played against him before."

England team: ME Trescothick, MP Vaughan, MA Butcher, N Hussain (capt), JP Crawley, AJ Stewart (wkt), C White, AF Giles, AR Caddick, SP Jones, MJ Hoggard.

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