Cricket: Harmison Gives England Injury Scare

England suffered a pre-Ashes scare this morning when Steve Harmison, their spearhead fast bowler so vital to their cause, was left out of the match against South Australia in Adelaide through injury. But there was a clear indication as to who England's preferred spinner in next week's first Test will be with Monty Panesar chosen ahead of Ashley Giles for the final warm-up match.

Harmison, whose erratic bowling had started to gain consistency in the lead up to the Test, woke up today with tightness in his side and although he sent down some tentative warm-up bowling from a shortened run up, was withdrawn from the side as a precaution. The medical staff now have less than a week to work on a recovery before the first Test which begins in Brisbane on Thursday. The condition is not new to the Durham fast bowler who has also suffered from shin splints in the past year that caused him to miss the home series against Sri Lanka. In last summer's Old Trafford Test against Pakistan, he pulled up clutching his right side after sending a delivery straight at second slip, although subsequently he carried on bowling.

He finished as England's leading wicket taker in that series with 20 wickets, including 11 in that Manchester match. Subsequently he missed all five one-day internationals that followed with a recurrence of the side strain. Such damage is the bane of fast bowlers, as serious an injury as they can sustain, but the early indications are that the England staff are erring on the side of caution.

If Harmison's injury cast some doubt over the final 11 for the Test, then at least there was clarification over the spin option, with Panesar gaining selection over Giles for today's match, and presumably therefore for Brisbane. Continuity and flair then have taken precedence over expedience, a surprising mindset from a side where pragmatism often holds sway. Perhaps the influence of Andrew Flintoff as

captain is greater than has been thought. Certainly it shows a welcome willingness to attack Australia with what should be regarded as the strongest bowling attack regardless of other considerations.

There was a strong case for the return of Giles after a year out with a serious hip injury that ultimately required surgery in Colorado. He played a solid under-rated part in regaining the Ashes with some sturdy holding spells with the ball but more pertinently contributions at No8 with the bat that steered England home in the close win at Trent Bridge, and fought off any chance Australia had of levelling the series in the final Test at the Oval. Duncan Fletcher is a great admirer of the balance he brings to the side and all the guesswork suggested, reluctantly perhaps, he would return to Giles once more.

However since his debut against India in Nagpur last March, Panesar has shown himself to be a spin bowler of genuine world class, and he has played every Test match since, taking 32 wickets against some of the finest players of spin in the game. He is a diligent worker almost to the point of obsession, and the standard of his fielding and batting, while still short of the level that would satisfy Fletcher, have improved markedly.

On this tour so far there has been little to choose between the performances of the competing spinners. It may even be that Giles has shaded it. But England clearly see Panesar as an attacking option as well as a bowler capable of bowling defensive spells in support of the pace attack on good pitches against high quality batsmen.

Now, at Adelaide, he gets the opportunity to fine tune his game, and assimilate the optimum pace to bowl on Australian pitches. England spent the morning in the field, having lost the toss, and with James Anderson given the new ball in place of Harmison, were unable to make an initial breakthrough, although a flurry of wickets soon arrived.

There was some swing for Matthew Hoggard and Anderson, but the latter in particular tended to err on the short side and was pulled through mid wicket for his pains. It did bring him a first wicket, though, when Matthew Elliott attempted a pull and underedged a catch to Geraint Jones. Immediately Hoggard secured a second wicket when, with the next ball, the other opener Daniel Harris was caught by Paul Collingwood at third slip. In the Yorkshireman's next over he took two wickets in two balls. Firstly he was the recipient of some smart glovework with Mark Cosgrove caught down the leg side by Jones, before trapping Callum Ferguson leg before to leave South Australia rocking on 25 for four.

England's likely line-up for first Test


Andrew Strauss (Middlesex)

Alastair Cook (Essex)

Ian Bell (Warwickshire)

Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)

Paul Collingwood Durham)

Andrew Flintoff (capt, Lancashire)

Geraint Jones (wkt, Kent)

Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire)

Steve Harmison, right (Durham)

James Anderson (Lancashire)

Monty Panesar (Northants)