Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell was the notable absentee when England announced a 16-man squad on Wednesday for their end-of-year tour to South Africa.

Bell, 22, produced a sparkling 70 on his debut in the fourth and final Test against West Indies at The Oval last week but lost out on selection to the more established Mark Butcher and Robert Key.

Butcher, a 32-year-old who has played in 69 Tests, did not feature in the series against West Indies following a succession of injuries.

Key, however, shone with a monumental 221 in the series opener at Lord's and then guided England to a seven-wicket victory with an unbeaten 93 in the third Test at Old Trafford.

Butcher and Key join captain Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Graham Thorpe and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff as the leading batsmen in the squad.

Durham all-rounder Paul Collingwood was a surprise inclusion while Worcestershire off spinner Gareth Batty was brought in to the squad as back up for slow left-armer Ashley Giles.

REAL BENEFIT

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said in a statement: "We have chosen Paul Collingwood because we feel his experience of the international arena and his adaptability will be of real benefit to the touring party.

"His inclusion will better enable us to retain the right balance to the side in the event of injury to our one all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

"We were impressed by the maturity Ian Bell displayed on debut against West Indies last week and he was considered for one of the specialist batting positions.

"But ultimately we felt that Mark Butcher deserved to retain his place following his outstanding batting in the Caribbean during the winter and likewise Robert Key for his excellent performances against West Indies this summer".

Vaughan's team, who has won 10 out of 11 Tests in 2004, will play five Tests and seven one-day internationals against South Africa between December 2004 and February 2005.