Phillip Hughes has one less thing to worry about after England avoided the temptation of recalling mercurial quick Steve Harmison for this week's first Ashes Test.
The selectors omitted the giant Durham paceman and showed their thoughts on the Cardiff deck by naming spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar in their 13-man squad.
Ian Bell and Graham Onions have been added to the side that played Warwickshire last week.
The unconvincing manner that Hughes dealt with Harmison in Worcester had revived calls for him to be picked after falling out of favour with selectors in the Caribbean this year.
But Onions's selection despite returning match figures of 3-144 compared to Harmison's 6-135 against Australia at New Road showed England weren't quite ready to trust the big man again.
The English brains trust has good reason to have its doubts about the veteran of 60 Tests.
At his best, he is a menacing figure. But he is also capable of losing the plot as evidenced by the opening ball of the last Ashes series in Australia that he bowled straight into the palms of second slip.
Former Australian opener Justin Langer was surprised by the decision not to call up Harmison, who has generally done better on home soil than overseas.
''I always found Harmison quite difficult to face because, at his best, he gives them that little bit of an X-factor and hopefully that will be good for the Aussies,'' Langer said.
The decision also showed England's faith the pace trio of Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson and Stuart Broad could take care of business.
''We were keen to show consistency in selection and retain the nucleus of the side that performed so well against West Indies in the Test series earlier this summer,'' selector Geoff Miller said.
''Graham Onions has made an excellent start to his Test career and gives us a different option when we consider the make-up of our bowling attack.''
Australian coach Tim Nielsen expressed his reservations about Harmison after the right-armer had looked dangerous with the new ball but fallen away the longer the match wore on in Worcester.
''His consistency might not have been as good as it could have been,'' Nielsen said. ''Test match cricket goes for five days and you've got to be able to do it from ball one to ball two-and-a-half thousand.''
Australia drew its final hit-out before the first Test, with an early end to the four-day match against the England Lions forced by the collapse of umpire Jeff Evans on the field at New Road. With just under an hour of play to go and the match headed for a draw, Evans fell. He appeared to be recovering with attention from a paramedic as both captains agreed to call an end with 14 overs remaining.
The Lions, needing to score an unlikely 445 in two sessions, were 4-162 at the time. AAP
FIRST ASHES TEST
At Sophia Gardens, Cardiff from Wednesday to Sunday. TV Time: Live daily on SBS and Fox Sports3 from 7.30pm.
England squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann.