Cricket: I Pledge Loyalty to England; WINDIESTOUR.

Byline: BY DEAN WILSON Cricket Correspondent

STUART BROAD will put his England career before money by opting out of the Indian Premier League for the next two years.

On the day that ECB bigwigs and their IPL counterparts announced an agreement that will let English players enter February's auction Broad has decided to buck the trend and focus on 'proper' cricket.

It is a measure of the increasingly impressive 22-year-old that he should not be blinded by the IPL's riches. With 10 Test matches and 42 one-day internationals to his name, Broad is still in the promising category and has decided the IPL can wait. His priority is to cement a regular Test spot and make an impact in this summer's Ashes.

The schedule facing England's cricketers is close to madness, with very little respite over the next 18 months. The four-week gap for the IPL between the end of the West Indies tour and the start of the English summer should have been a time for recuperation ahead of a mammoth programme. The return Test series against the Windies is followed by three one-day games, a Twenty20 tournament involving Sir Allen Stanford plus the World Twenty20. Then the Ashes start.

Only Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are certain to be picked in the IPL auction. With the likes of Shaun Tait, JP Duminy and Michael Clarke set to be signed there won't be much space for the Steve Harmisons of the world.

Of the non-contract players tipped to be involved Shaun Udal has followed Broad's example by putting his energies into his role as Middlesex captain instead.

Both Hampshire and Lancashire will be happy about the latest developments with 10 per cent of Pietersen and Flintoff's IPL wages - worth up to pounds 110,000 per year - to go to their county as compensation for missing the start of the season.

On the ground out here in the West Indies there was good news all-round as the MRI scan on Flintoff's left side showed no serious damage, raising hopes he will be fully fit for the First Test.

Owais Shah had his eye patch removed and was able to field as England claimed a 217-run victory.

In the morning session Andrew Strauss completed the cheapest ton of his life before retiring, while Matt Prior could only chuckle at being run out for two after colliding mid pitch with Ian Bell.

Who has booked passage to India?

THIRTEEN out of 19 players on central (c) and incremental (i) contracts have been put forward:

UNDER THE HAMMER: Anderson (c) Bell (c) Collingwood (c) Flintoff (c) Harmison (c) Panesar (c) Pietersen (c) Sidebottom (c) Bopara (i) Patel (i) Shah (i) Swann (i) Wright (i)

WITHDRAWN: Broad (c) Cook (c) Strauss (c) Vaughan (c) Ambrose (i) Prior (i)

CAPTION(S):

ENGLAND PROMISE Stuart Broad batting and bowling (below) yesterday