Strauss to lead England, Prior gets gloves

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) Opening batsman Andrew Strauss will lead England in the first test against West Indies at Lord's starting on Thursday in the absence of injured captain Michael Vaughan.

Matthew Prior was named as wicketkeeper in the 12-man squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today.

Prior is preferred to World Cup keeper Paul Nixon and will make his test debut in the first match of the four-test series.

Peter Moores will be in charge of the team for the first time, having taken over as coach from Duncan Fletcher who resigned last month after England's poor showing at the World Cup in the Caribbean.

Vaughan is recovering from a broken finger.

''Michael Vaughan has made progress with his recovery from injury but his chances of being fully fit for this test match are extremely doubtful and we feel the best course of action is to avoid any uncertainty and for Andrew Strauss to deputise for him,'' chairman of selectors David Graveney said.

''Michael will continue his rehabilitation with the squad at Lord's next week and we will reassess his fitness when we sit down to pick the side for (the second test at) Headingley,'' he told the ECB Web site (www.ecb.co.uk).

Strauss has captained England before, leading them to a 3-0 test series win over Pakistan last summer.

Team: Andrew Strauss (captain), Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Owais Shah.

REUTERS BJR KN1530