LEEDS (England), Aug 21: England captain Nasser Hussain was agonising over whether to play injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in the potentially decisive third Test against India, starting Thursday at Headingley.

Hussain told a news conference on the eve of the game: “He might not play. His groin is probably at the worst it’s been this summer. If he plays I will have to look after him, maybe restrict him to 10 overs a day.

“It’s very tricky to get the ball out of his hands when he wants an extra over. In an ideal situation we wouldn’t want to risk him.”

Flintoff, an integral part of the England side, is facing a hernia operation but has yet to decide when to undergo surgery. He could choose to miss the fourth and final Test or the ICC Champions Trophy limited-overs tournament in Sri Lanka next month.

Hussain added: “He tends to bowl the hard yards for the side. We have been told the injury is not something that will get worse by playing.”

The England captain added that the matter was made more difficult by a string of injuries to possible all-rounder replacements like Craig White and Ronnie Irani.

England lead the series 1-0 after winning the first Test at Lord’s. They have won their last three games at Headingley, against Australia (2001), West Indies (2000) and South Africa (1998). India have lost three of their five visits to the venue and drawn once.

Hussain said he and the selectors were still considering whether to play specialist spinner Ashley Giles.

“It’s a very difficult one. Headingley has a history of not spinning,” he said.

But he hinted that Andrew Caddick would lead the attack after missing the first two Tests with a side strain — “he looks fully fit but obviously has not played that much cricket” — while Alex Tudor would have to convince the selectors that he was also ready to play over five days after suffering shin splints.

Pace bowler Steve Harmison, who made his debut in the drawn second Test at Trent Bridge, had not been ruled out and was “raring to go”.

India captain Saurav Ganguly, asked if he would field two spinners for the first time in the series, said he would leave his team selection to the final minute after examining the pitch, adding: “It’s been a good batting surface this season.”

Time, though, is running out. To date, there has only been one side in the four-match series and it has not been Ganguly’s.

Squads:

England: Michael Vaughan, Robert Key, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain (captain), John Crawley, Alec Stewart, Andrew Flintoff, Alex Tudor, Andrew Caddick, Ashely Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Dominic Cork, Steve Harmison.

India: Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Shiv Sundar Das, Anil Kumble, Ajay Ratra, Tinu Yohannan, Dinesh Mongia.—Reuters