Flintoff in the frame for England

England selectors will consider Andrew Flintoff as skipper for the ICC World Twenty20 after leaving Andrew Strauss out of the squad for the tournament in June.

Strauss will carry on leading the Test and one-day side this summer but not for the event England host in two months' time, with Robert Key and Dimitri Mascarenhas also among the players in the running to be appointed.

The possibility of Flintoff being skipper again will get England fans excited after the 31-year-old was stripped of the vice-captaincy in 2007 following the infamous "Fredalo" incident, but England selector Geoff Miller said: "There are loads of options for us to go down, Andrew is one of them. We will certainly discuss it."

He added: "We will talk to all parties to find out the best way forward and make sure we have the best side and the best captain on the field to win the tournament."

That will also mean Kevin Pietersen being discussed, although the former England captain has previously insisted he would not accept the job.

Strauss was left out following months of discussions that started well before his match-winning 79 from 61 balls against West Indies last week, helping England win their first one-day series in the Caribbean.

The 32-year-old was only appointed as one-day skipper on a temporary basis ahead of the West Indies tour but is set to continue in that role and sit out Twenty20 matches.

"It's not his preferred format of the game," said England and Wales Cricket board managing director Hugh Morris. "There have been a number of discussions about this format and the captaincy. It was very much a joint decision."

Miller added: "Andrew is not particularly comfortable with the Twenty20 game so we have had to look elsewhere. We would have liked the option but the option is not there - we made the decision and will stand by that decision."