VADODARA, Feb 22: England’s hopes of finding a suitable spinner for the first Test against India suffered a blow on Wednesday when all three contenders went down with stomach bugs.

Ian Blackwell, Monty Panesar and Shaun Udal are doubtful starters for the tourists’ lone first-class game against the Indian Board President’s XI starting on Thursday, team spokesman Andrew Walpole said.

Fast bowler Simon Jones, another victim of the stomach bug, and all-rounder Paul Collingwood, who has back trouble, are also expected to sit out the three-day match.

The game is England’s final practice match before the first of three back-to-back Tests starting in Nagpur on March 1.

The second Test will be played in Nagpur from March 8-12 and the third in Mumbai from March 18-22.

With only 11 fit men available, Michael Vaughan’s team will be wary of any other breakdowns during the practice match against a team containing some of India’s young talent.

The President’s XI, led by batsman Venugopal Rao, includes two of the country’s fastest bowlers, Munaf Patel and Vikram Rajvir Singh.

They will be backed by Sri Sreesanth, who took part in India’s recent 4-1 win in the one-day series against Pakistan, and another seamer Shib Paul.

The home team also includes openers Wasim Jaffar and Gautam Gambhir, who did not play a Test in Pakistan but are the leading contenders to partner Virender Sehwag in the first Test.

Sehwag, meanwhile, was declared fit to play the Test series after returning home early from Pakistan with a shoulder injury.

The return of the opener is welcome news for India, who will be without in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh for the first Test because of a hamstring injury.—AFP