CAPE TOWN, Feb 20: England captain Nasser Hussain could miss Saturday’s key World Cup match against Pakistan here after a strained neck showed no signs of improving.

Scans conducted on the neck did not reveal how serious the injury was, team officials said on Thursday, but Hussain’s progess was being monitored closely.

A final decision on whether Hussain will play against Pakistan was unlikely to be made before Saturday morning to give him sufficient time to recover.

The 34-year-old opted out of Wednesday’s match against Namibia in Port Elizabeth because of the injury and was replaced as captain by Alec Stewart.

It was the first One-day International Hussain missed in nearly two years, a run spanning 32 successive matches after he was rested for the penultimate match in the five-game series against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2000.

Hussain’s continued absence would be a severe blow for England after Namibia gave them a fright despite the 55-run defeat.—AFP