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| May 26, 2005 | Thursday | Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1426 |
Spinner Giles ruled out of first Bangladesh Test
LONDON, May 25: England left-arm spinner Ashley Giles has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh starting at Lord’s on Thursday because of a hip injury. Giles will be replaced by off-spinner Gareth Batty.
“He just needs a bit more time to make sure the hip recovers,” captain Michael Vaughan told a news conference at Lord’s on Wednesday. “He may be available for the second Test. We’ll monitor it over the next week.”
Giles has revitalised his career over the past year and become an integral part of an attack which has helped England win 12 of their last 16 matches against a single defeat.
“He’ll be missed. He’s also been in good form for his county, Warwickshire. I don’t want to look too far ahead but I fully expect him to be fit come July 21 (for the start of the Ashes series) and hopefully for next week,” Vaughan added.
“His injury has not come at an ideal time but it could have come at a worse time.”
Pace bowler Simon Jones, who has recovered from a back problem, was selected ahead of seamer Jon Lewis.
Vaughan will move up from four to three in the batting order to allow Ian Bell to follow the England skipper in his second appearance for England.
Apart from Bell, England’s top order have struggled for runs at the start of the county season although Vaughan was unperturbed.
“We would have liked to score more runs but we are pretty confident the players are mentally strong enough. They know how to switch on.
“Bangladesh won’t be a walkover and are a potential banana skin. We will give them exactly the same respect as any other team in the world.”
Vaughan said he would probably protect all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in the field after his ankle surgery, limiting him to short, sharp bowling spells.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, left out promising left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr, opting instead for the more experienced Mohammad Rafique and an extra batsman. Haque has taken 18 wickets in his last three Test innings.
Sixteen-year-old reserve wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, the discovery of the tour after making a century against Northamptonshire, was included in the 12 and may play as a specialist batsman.
If selected, he will be the youngest ever Test debutant at Lord’s and the ninth youngest Test player of all time.
Coach Dav Whatmore said: “I won’t judge our success by the scoreline. If enough of our players come through with a pass mark, then we will have done something good.”
Bangladesh have never played at Lord’s before. The second Test starts next week on June 3 before the two sides take part in a triangular one-day tournament also involving Australia.
Teams:
England: Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (captain), Ian Bell, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Gareth Batty, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison.
Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Aftab Ahmed, Anwar Hossain, Javed Omar, Khaled Mashud, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Rafique, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nafis Iqbal, Rajin Saleh, Shahadat Hossain.
Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and K. Hariharan (India).—Reuters
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