Harmison recalled to England squad
England have added paceman Steve Harmison to their squad for the second test as cover for injury doubt Andrew Flintoff.
Flintoff will have a scan on his troublesome knee later today after experiencing discomfort during the drawn test at Cardiff.
-
Steve Harmison is back in the England squad for the Lord's test
Harmison is the only change to the 13-man squad that was picked prior to the Cardiff game.
“Andrew is experiencing soreness and swelling in the knee which he twisted while in the field," said national selector Geoff Miller.
"He will be reassessed by the medical staff over the next 48 hours leading up to the Test on Thursday,”
It is the latest of a series of injury blows to England's talismanic all-rounder.
Since his heroic performances in 2005, when England regained the Ashes, Flintoff has played in under half of England's test matches.
“In the event of Andrew being unfit, we see Stephen as a like-for-like replacement," said Miller.
"In terms of the type of bowler he is and his ability to unsettle the opposition batsmen with pace and bounce.
“But we will need to consider all our options carefully when we come to determine the make-up of our bowling attack at Lord’s.
"The final decision will depend on our assessment of the pitch and the likely overhead conditions.”
England's bowling attack struggled at Cardiff as the Australians eased their way to a total of 674-6 declared.
Stuart Broad was the poorest of the bowlers on show, recording un-impressive figures of one for 129 from 32 overs.
The 23-year-old has taken just 47 wickets in 18 tests and is averaging close to 40 with the ball.
However if Flintoff is injured Broad's ability with the bat (where he averages nearly 30) could mean he retains his place.
With England likely to only field one spinner, yesterday's hero Monty Panesar may miss out.
Graeme Swann is set to continue as number one spinner, with four out of Flintoff, Broad, Harmison, James Anderson or Graham Onions set to play.
Ian Bell remains in the squad as cover for the batsmen.
England squad for the second Ashes test:
A Strauss
A Cook
R Bopara
K Pietersen
P Collingwood
M Prior
A Flintoff
S Broad
G Swann
S Harmison
G Onions
J Anderson
M Panesar
I Bell
Comments
by Alan, Cleeve
Tuesday, July 14 2009, 5:17AM
“Good old Steve.
Pity Monty seems set to be dropped after his courageous tail-end batting display.
Wish they'd drop Pieterson for a game, just to let him know that nobody is indispensible and that his attitude needs attention.
Had to laugh at Ricky Ponting's outrage at our time-wasting tactics - from one of the worst sports in the whole World!!”