London, July 26 - Andrew Flintoff has been retained while Ian Bell replaces Kevin Pietersen in the England squad for the third Ashes Test against Australia starting Thursday at Edgbaston.

Flintoff, who will retire after the series, is battling a knee injury while Pietersen has been ruled out of the series after he underwent a surgery on his Achilles tendon. Bell's inclusion in the eleven is likely to be the only change in the team that is 1-0 up in the series.

'Kevin's injury has presented an opportunity for Ian Bell. The performance of the team at Lord's was outstanding and a convincing win was well deserved. We have obviously had to make a change to the side following Kevin Pietersen's unavailability and we wish Kevin the best with his rehabilitation and look forward to his return to the England team in due course,' said national selector Geoff Miller.

'But we know Ian Bell is a top-class batsmen with an excellent international record for England. Ian will be looking to make the most of his return to the side during an Ashes series and while we have a strong idea of where he will bat we won't be disclosing the final line-up of the side until the toss on Thursday,' he added.