England captain Michael Vaughan has been ruled out of Wednesday’s first Test against India after failing to recover from a knee injury, dealing a big blow to the tourists already battling form and fitness problems.
”He [Vaughan] is ruled out of this Test, but is not out of the series at this stage,” England media manager Andrew Walpole told reporters on Monday.
”Vaughan is to return home for treatment. It is too early to say whether he will be fit for the remaining two Tests and the one-day series.”
England will play seven one-dayers after the three back-to-back Test matches. The second Test will be played in Mohali on March 9-13 and the third in Mumbai on March 18-22.
Vaughan’s absence made way for ace all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to lead the side for the first time in Tests. England had already lost vice-captain Marcus Trescothick, who returned home due to personal reasons.
Vaughan suffered the injury before his team’s only first-class match at Vadodara last Thursday, eventually forcing him to skip the game.
England’s problems multiplied when they crashed to an eight-wicket defeat in the three-day match at Vadodara on Saturday, which showed they had yet to come to grips with Indian conditions.
It is certainly not an ideal scenario for England, who are making an attempt to win the first Test series in India since 1984-85 when David Gower’s team triumphed 2-1.
England will sorely miss Vaughan, not only for his leadership skill but also for his solid batting on slow Indian pitches which are expected to favour spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
Vaughan, considered as one of the best batsmen against spin, is only the second player after Flintoff in the current England squad to have figured in Tests in India in 2001. He has scored 4 595 runs in 64 Tests with 15 centuries.
His teammates may find the Indian spin duo too hot to handle as both Kumble and Harbhajan are proven match-winners in home conditions.
The same injury troubled Vaughan on the Pakistan tour late last year when he missed the opening Test at Multan, but recovered to play the next two matches at Faisalabad and Lahore during his team’s 2-0 defeat.
Indian coach Greg Chappell said spinners would play vital roles in the three-Test series.
”We have two good spinners and another young fellow [Piyush Chawla] coming in also very promising,” he said.
”I think Kumble and Harbhajan have got over 500 Test wickets and that is good enough experience. They are quality bowlers.”
An encouraging news for England is that Ashes hero Kevin Pietersen is expected to be fit for the match after retiring during the Vadodare match due to back spasm.
Reverse-swing specialist Simon Jones, who had earlier suffered a stomach ailment, was in an injury scare on Monday when he fell while bowling in the nets and was taken to hospital for scans.
England have already called up batsman Alistair Cook, paceman James Anderson and all-rounder Owais Shah as cover for the injured players.
England’s strength lies in a four-pronged pace attack, comprising Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Flintoff and Jones who played big roles in their team’s remarkable victory over Australia in the Ashes series at home last year.
Chappell said India just could not afford to underestimate the injury-hit England side.
”They [England] are a very good side. They still have good back-up players and they are keen to improve their record in India. We know they will be a formidable opposition.” – AFP
