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| September 19, 2006 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 25, 1427 |
Giles will be fit for Ashes tour
LONDON, Sept 18: England's veteran spinner Ashley Giles will be fully recovered from his hip problem and fit for this winter's Ashes series with the Australians the team's spin bowling coach David Parsons told the BBC on Monday.
The 33-year-old has not played international cricket since the second Test in Pakistan last November and missed the entire summer after surgery on his hip for a second time.
However, Parsons insisted that the Warwickshire spin wizard – who is back bowling in the nets – would be fighting fit come November when they travel out to Australia where England will bid to retain the Ashes which they won back last year.
“He will be fighting fit and raring to go by the time England touch down in Australia,” said Parsons.
“The last couple of weeks I have been working quite closely with Ashley and he is coming on strong.
“He is genuinely making good progress. It is all timed towards making sure he is ready for Australia and from what I have seen he is very much on course for that.”The England selectors stayed faithful to him when they announced the squad for the Ashes despite his lack of first team action.
He will also travel out as a non-playing member of the Champions Trophy squad to India in October which Parsons believes will help him enormously.
“Ashley still has a considerable period of time - England don't play their first game in Australia until Nov 10,” he went on.
“He will benefit from the time he spends in India. He has got himself very physically fit.
“He is back to bowling and it is now a case of getting the volumes up so that when he is in a Test match and required to bowl 25 overs in an afternoon he can do that.
“Ashley is very excited about getting back to playing.”
Giles, who like fellow Ashes squad members James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard is one of several players to have been troubled by injury, was an integral member of last year's Ashes winning team.
Having been lambasted after the first Test loss he hit back in the best possible fashion by taking 10 wickets in the series, hit the winning runs in the Trent Bridge test and a second innings 59 on the final day of the final test that sealed the dramatic series victory.—AFP
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