Injuries delay Graveney's plans

By SAM PETERS

Last updated at 23:36 04 September 2007


England's chaotic preparations for next week's Twenty20 World Championship continued yesterday with chairman of selectors David Graveney confirming the squad is unlikely to be finalised until 24 hours before departure.

England finish the NatWest

Series with India at Lord's

on Saturday before

departing for South Africa

on Sunday. They face

Zimbabwe in Cape Town

next Thursday.

Flintoff

Ravi Bopara is definitely

out of the tournament

with a fractured thumb

while Andrew Flintoff

(ankle) and Chris Tremlett

(ankle) are also major doubts.

Flintoff yesterday

visited the surgeon who

carried out the last of his

three operations in May

and while Graveney

refused to rule him out of

today's Oval clash, the

Lancashire all-rounder

may need more surgery.

Tremlett will be

reassessed tomorrow

before a decision is made

on his participation in

South Africa, leaving Ian

Bell, Dimitri Mascarenhas

and Jimmy Anderson to

put their holiday plans on

hold.

And England had another

scare last night when

Chris Schofield injured his

hand fielding for Surrey.

However the 28-year-old is confident he will be fit in

time to face Zimbabwe.

"I've had four stitches but

hopefully I will be all right,"

he said. "The stitches

should be coming out in

seven days time and so I

should be okay."

About naming the squad,

Graveney said: "It's a

difficult logistical thing

because a number of

decisions about certain

players may be left until

the weekend with the

flight leaving the following

day.

"I'm just saying that could

happen. I'm not saying it is

going to be like that but

the proximity between the

ending of this tournament

and the beginning of another one is incredibly

short."

England go into today's

game 3-2 up and a win will

clinch the series. Ryan

Sidebottom has recovered

from injury and is likely to

replace Jon Lewis, while

Mascarenhas will come in

for Bopara.

India, by contrast, will pick

from a fully-fit squad.

ENGLAND (probable): Cook,

Prior (wkt), Bell, Pietersen,

Collingwood (capt), Shah,

Mascarenhas, Broad, Sidebottom,

Panesar, Anderson

INDIA (probable): Ganguly,

Tendulkar, Gambhir, Yuvraj,

Dravid (capt), Dhoni (wkt),

Agarkar, Chalwa, Powar, Khan,

RP Singh.

TV: Sky Sports 1, 10am (10.15 start).

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