England elect to bat in Ashes first Test

England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss on Wednesday and elected to bat in the first Ashes Test against Australia on a fine sunny morning.

Spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar were both included in the England side while Australia opted to play their only specialist spinner Nathan Hauritz.

Fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus was a surprise choice to fill the vacancy left by the injured Brett Lee ahead of Stuart Clark.

England left out reserve batsman Ian Bell and pace bowler Graham Onions.

The forecast for the first Test match to be staged in Cardiff is for continued fine weather with a chance of showers.

Teams:

England - Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss (captain), Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.

Australia - Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan).