Jones Ruled Out of First Test

England’s tour of India lurched into further disarray today as captain Michael Vaughan and paceman Simon Jones were forced to return home following injuries.

Vaughan was ruled out of Wednesday’s opening Test against the Indians with a recurrence of a right knee injury, while Jones suffered minor cartilage damage to his left knee in practice at the VCA Stadium today. Whether Jones will return to the sub-continent will be assessed after consultation.

The double-setback was the latest in a catalogue of calamity for the tourists, who lost vice-captain Marcus Trescothick at the weekend for an indefinite period due to personal reasons. Andrew Flintoff will now captain his country for the first time in an international, leading a side woefully short of experience having been shorn of its two most senior players.

Who now will line up in Flintoff’s first match in charge is a matter of debate, with the back-up fast bowlers Liam Plunkett and James Anderson risks for differing reasons.

Plunkett has a bruised left heel, which is still causing a concern, while Anderson only arrived in India last night after being summoned from the England A tour of the Caribbean. His partner on that 48-hour worldwide dash, Essex opener Alastair Cook, is now favorite to form a new first-wicket alliance with Andrew Strauss.

England’s other option at the top of the order is Matt Prior, Geraint Jones’ understudy as wicketkeeper. Vaughan’s latest setback continues a worrying trend which has developed over the last three years. He had his right knee cleaned up in an operation prior to the 2002-03 Ashes campaign and underwent surgery again in December in a bid to be fit for this nine-week tour.

The problem flared ahead of the first Test in Pakistan, forcing him to sit out, and he missed the one-day series later on that tour to undergo surgery.

Although the England management have not ruled him out of the entire tour here, with the three-match series being a back-to-back format and a seven-match one-day campaign following a week later there is little time for him to regain match fitness.

Yesterday, England called up Owais Shah from the A squad in the West Indies to replace Marcus Trescothick, who flew home for personal reasons. Shah is the third England A player, after Alistair Cook and James Anderson, to be called up as cover.