England have delayed the announcement of an extended squad for the forthcoming Ashes cricket series to give the likes of Michael Vaughan and Ian Bell a chance to stake their claim to face Australia.
The selectors were due to announce the squad, which could include as many as 17 players, this weekend but have delayed that announcement and will now release the list of names early next week after this week's round of county matches have been completed.
That will give former captain Vaughan and others one last opportunity to make a significant contribution ahead of the first Test against Ricky Ponting's team in Cardiff in early July.
