England seamer Matthew Hoggard has been included in a 12-man squad for the first two Tests against New Zealand after Andrew Flintoff was ruled out with a side strain.

England's selectors kept faith with the players who beat New Zealand 2-1 in March by naming an unchanged team for the first Test, which begins on Thursday, with the exception of Hoggard.

Hoggard - who was axed for the two final victorious matches of that series in the southern hemisphere - took three wickets for the England Lions against the tourists on Friday, but there is still no place for fellow pace bowler Steve Harmison, who was also dropped for those matches.

All-rounder Paul Collingwood was included despite undergoing treatment to an injured shoulder and his condition will be closely monitored ahead of the opening Test at Lord's on May 15.

"Despite being faced with some injury concerns we've named what we think is an extremely strong England test squad," head selector Geoff Miller stated.

"At this stage it's too early to say whether he [Collingwood] will definitely play as he will be reassessed in the lead up to Thursday.

"Clearly there is very healthy competition for places in this Test side, which can only be good for England.

"The selection of this squad maintains a position of continuity from the winter following a series win against New Zealand.

"We're expecting an equally tough series here at home and believe we have a squad capable of building on the success stemming from last winter."

England squad:

Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, captain), Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire, wicketkeeper), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham) , Alastair Cook (Essex), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Andrew Strauss (Middlesex).

Reuters