Flintoff out of first test, England bat

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff lost his fitness battle before the first test at Lord's against West Indies today.

Flintoff has been suffering from soreness in his left ankle.

Middlesex batsman Owais Shah will win his second cap and his first in England.

West Indies won the toss and asked England to bat in overcast conditions.

Teams: England - Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Owais Shah, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar.

West Indies - Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Corey Collymore.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Asad Rauf (Pakistan).

REUTERS BJR RS1554