Richard Johnson, the opening bowler who moved from Middlesex to Somerset during the winter, has been called into Mike Atherton's 13-man squad for the third Ashes Test as yet more England players fall to pieces. He replaces Chris Silverwood, who was ruled out today because of a back problem, and will cover for Alex Tudor who is also suffering, with a stiff side. Tudor will undergo a fitness test tomorrow morning and is expected to play.

Johnson, 26, who took 10 wickets in an innings against Derbyshire in 1994, was picked for England's tour of South Africa in 1995-96 but had to withdraw because of a back injury. David Graveney said that he plumped for Johnson because "the type of bowler we wanted here is one who hits the deck hard".

Martin Bicknell, who has come close to selection and who would have been the ninth Surrey player to be called up for England duty this summer, will be ruing his luck. But his heart will no doubt lift when he learns that Johnson too was born in Surrey. England (probable): 1 Michael Atherton (capt), 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Mark Ramprakash, 5 Alec Stewart (wk), 6 Ian Ward, 7 Craig White, 8 Robert Croft, 9 Alex Tudor, 10 Andy Caddick, 11 Darren Gough.

Australia: 1 Michael Slater, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk) 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

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