England Injury Round Up

Andrew Flintoff, man of the match, in the second npower Test at Lord’s has vowed to do everything in his power to coax his body through the 3 remaining Ashes Tests.

The win at Lord’s by 115 runs heralded England’s first Lord’s victory over Australia in any test match since 1934 and gives them a 1-0 advantage as they head into the third Test which begins at Edgbaston on Thursday 30th July.

The Lord’s victory was due in no small part to some inspired bowling by Flintoff on the last morning to take 3 of the 5 remaining wickets during a 10 over spell before victory at 12.45pm just before lunch.

After announcing his retirement from Test Cricket at the end of this Ashes series, Flintoff is determined to be part of the winning Ashes team at the Oval. He will not let pain be a barrier to his completing the remainder of this Ashes series and said that he had played most of his career with some discomfort. With a rest period of around 9 days before the next test hopes are high that he will be fit to compete.

There are more injury problems for England ahead of the third Test as Kevin Pietersen is still having problems with his Achilles. Unfortunately, whether batting or fielding the achilles is continually under strain and it is hoped that a further injection later this week will enable him to continue playing. Should this fail then he may well be facing surgery which would keep him out of the rest of the series.

Both Flintoff and Pietersen will be seeing specialists this week and will only be selected for the squad if they were considered to be fit enough to get through and contribute to winning a Test match.

Graham Onions, the seam bowler is the other concern due to an elbow problem.

The victory at Lord’s showed that Strauss’s team can win without a significant contribution from Pietersen, but the loss of Flintoff would be another matter. Not only his successful wicket taking, but also the confidence and belief that he brings to the side.

England, are however in the fortunate position to have the likes of Stephen Harmison and Ryan Sidebottom to call upon should Flintoff not be fit.

So a few fraught days until the squad is announced on Sunday and we find out whether Flintoff and Pietersen are considered fit enough to take their places in the third npower Test at Edgbaston.