Bowlers' fitness poses problems for England's West Indies tour

Monday, January 5, 2004

LONDON, England (AFP): England are set to gamble on their fast bowlers' fitness when their West Indies' tour squad is announced here Tuesday.

Young quicks James Anderson, Stephen Harmison and Simon Jones are all vying for spots in England's 16-man party as they aim for their first Test series win in the Caribbean in over 30 years.

But whether the trio can last the distance of a tour comprising four Tests and seven one-day internationals remains to be seen.

Anderson missed the first half of England's pre-Christmas Test trip to the subcontinent in Bangladesh with knee trouble while Harmison was absent from the following 1-0 series defeat in Sri Lanka because of a side strain.

And Jones has been out of all first-class cricket for over a year since injuring his cruciate knee ligament fielding against Australia at Brisbane.

Also in contention for a pace bowling place is experienced Somerset seamer Richard Johnson whose career has been blighted by injury problems.

Sussex's James Kirtley, a Sri Lanka tourist, is not as quick as his rivals but tends to be less injury prone and England could also opt for Yorkshire workhorse Matthew Hoggard.

Off-spinner Robert Croft's retirement from international cricket earlier this week looks to have eased any selection dilemmas regarding slow bowling with left-armer Ashley Giles and off-spinner Gareth Batty set to retain their places.

England's batting appears to pick itself and captain Michael Vaughan, together with the rest of the top order, will be looking for easier pickings against the West Indies after being tormented by Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. 

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