ANDREW Strauss has been dropped by England for the three-Test tour of Sri Lanka.The 30-year-old Middlesex batsman has averaged just 27 during the past year and has paid the price for his disappointing run of form - even though he was recently awarded a new central contract.

ANDREW Strauss has been dropped by England for the three-Test tour of Sri Lanka.

The 30-year-old Middlesex batsman has averaged just 27 during the past year and has paid the price for his disappointing run of form - even though he was recently awarded a new central contract.

Rumours that Surrey's Mark Ramprakash would be recalled for the tour proved to be wide of the mark as 38-year-old batsman has not been recalled.

England squad: M Vaughan (Yorkshire, captain), J Anderson (Lancashire), I Bell (Warwickshire), R Bopara (Essex), S Broad (Nottinghamshire), P Collingwood (Durham), A Cook (Essex), M Hoggard (Yorkshire), P Mustard (Durham), M Panesar (Northamptonshire), K Pietersen (Hampshire), M Prior (Sussex), O Shah (Middlesex), R Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), G Swann (Nottinghamshire).