England set to decline chance of last waltz with Ramprakash

Mark Ramprakash's hopes of a fairytale return to Test cricket at the age of 38 look set to be dashed today when England put faith in younger batsmen to take on Sri Lanka.

The selectors asked Ramprakash, in the middle of his recordbreaking county feats for Surrey last summer, if he still had a desire to play for England after a five-year absence.

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When the Strictly Come Dancing star said yes, they decided to consider him for one of the most difficult of Test assignments, Sri Lanka away in December.

But the 3-2 one-day series defeat of Sri Lanka convinced selectors to keep faith with such players as Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara.

Andrew Strauss also looks set to miss out, even though he was awarded a central contract by England last month.

Strauss is without a Test century in more than a year and failed to regain his form when he returned to Middlesex after missing out on selection for England's one-day cricket squads.

Steve Harmison will be included if he proves his fitness in two games for Johannesburg's Highveld Lions.

Harmison, who had surgery for a hernia in June, is no longer a certain Test selection since the emergence of Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett and the maturing of Jimmy Anderson.

Tremlett could be the seam bowler to miss out.

There may be a first call-up for Warwickshire's Tim Ambrose as back-up wicketkeeper to under pressure Matt Prior.

ENGLAND (probable): Vaughan (capt), Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Shah, Bopara, Prior (wkt), Ambrose (wkt), Swann, Panesar, Harmison or Tremlett, Hoggard, Anderson, Broad, Sidebottom.