Anderson omission will aid team - Strauss

The 29-year-old was cast into the role of frustrated onlooker on Sunday when England's selectors opted to overlook him for the dead rubber at Edgbaston, which gets under way this morning.

Strauss said: Jimmy Anderson's missed out on this one, with good reason. It's a tough thing for any player to not play in a Test match, but with the schedules that there are in international cricket, from a management point of view you've got to manage your resources sensibly."

He added: "The last thing we want is someone to be playing to an extent they're dead on their feet and then get injured and are out for months."

England lead the three-Test series 2-0.