England are to give Robert Croft the chance to stake his claim for a Test recall in a three-way shoot-out for the spinners' berths this week.

The tourists' trio of slow bowlers are named in the side which takes on a Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI in a three-day contest here in Colombo, starting today.

Glamorgan off-spinner Croft, 33, was an integral part of England's 2-1 win on the island in 2001 when he teamed up with left-armer Ashley Giles and his know-how on the sub-continent could lead to that axis reforming at the expense of Gareth Batty, who made his Test debut in Dhaka, Bangladesh last month. For now, Croft views his two rivals as the men at the front of the queue and is just pleased to be back in the international fold for the first time in two years.

The Welshman has not featured at the highest level since refusing to tour India two years ago due to security concerns.

''I am pleased that tour went off safely, you can't have regrets in sport, you make decisions the same as life; you have to take the decision you think is right in your heart and you back those up,'' reflected Croft.

''There are quite a few guys who were on that tour out here now and everybody has been totally supportive, as they were then, which has made it a little bit easier.

''There is always some apprehension in a situation like this and I haven't seen the guys for two years, apart from when they play a little bit of county cricket which is not very often now, sadly, with the two divisional system.

''You are apprehensive because you don't always really know what people think in their heart of hearts. But everyone has taken me in.''

He added: ''Ash and Gareth are the people in possession, they have come from Bangladesh and they are the last two spinners to play in the team. But I haven't ruled out the chance of playing, I will do everything within my powers to prepare myself if selected on the day and to be ready and up for it.

''If I don't play there is a role for me trying to help the guys off the field as much as I can because in such testing conditions as you experience out here, with the weather and intensity of the cricket, you do need everybody pulling in the right direction to be successful.

''All I can do is bowl well, if the other guys get ahead of me then good luck to them.

"When you are a bit older you look at the bigger picture and realise the most important thing is for England to leave this tour with a Test series win.''

Neither Croft, who took eight wickets in the final two matches of the last success here and nine in all, nor left-armer Giles are big spinners of the ball.

But they took on the workload of stock bowlers, providing the team with control in the field.

''I am not coming out here with a bag of tricks, I am coming out here with 100 per cent effort and a big heart and hope that gets me through,'' added Croft.

''Out here is the hardest Test cricket I have ever played, I suppose you could talk about Australia but there it is their skill levels which are immense.

''As far as mental games, the heat exhaustion and pressure of it all where every ball had something hinging on it, that last series was the hardest. The important thing is you don't get carried away out here as a spin bowler - you don't go searching for wickets every ball."

Andrew Flintoff will lead the team at the Colombo Cricket Club with captain Michael Vaughan among those resting.

Geraint Jones, the Australian-raised Kent wicketkeeper, makes his first start in an England shirt, although the tourists have asked that 12 players be involved so Chris Read can get some extra batting practice ahead of the first Test, which starts on Tuesday.

The SLC President's XI side includes international fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, who has been sidelined for seven months with a back injury and hopes to prove his fitness for the three Tests.