Cricket: England down but not out

By ANGUS FRASER

They may be 2-0 down and looking into the abyss, but Nasser Hussain's England have plenty of reasons to make the next five days of their cricket careers count.

Not only could the fate of the urn, which England and Australia have been contesting for 120 years, be sealed, but also the futures of several senior players.

If England win in Perth, a stay of execution will be granted to Alec Stewart, Andrew Caddick and Craig White.

However, if they fail to keep the 63rd Ashes series alive, the case for persevering with such ageing players will be as hard to win as this test match.

The desire not to become the second England side to lose 5-0 against Australia is huge and Stewart and Caddick still have 10 months to run on their contracts, but to delay making such tough decisions would be wrong.

Caddick is taking every possible step to play today.

After coming off with back spasms during the second test in Adelaide, the fitness of the Somerset fast bowler has been causing Hussain serious concern.

Even though Caddick has not performed well when the pressure has been on, England still need him. A steroid injection in the 33-year-old Caddick's back on Tuesday was followed yesterday by an epidural injection in the hope this may ease the pain to himself and his country.

The possible replacements for Caddick and John Crawley, who according to Hussain is only "65 per cent fit," are all in the same boat.

"As far as selection goes, we have played poorly in two games and have to really start afresh. On form, I think only half the side warrant a place at the moment," Hussain said.

"Everyone else is in the mixer, whether they have played in one game or not at all on the tour. As long as they are fit, [Chris] Silverwood, [Alex]Tudor and [Paul] Collingwood have a chance. If someone in the nets bowls well, they have a chance.

"We would quite like the option of having 11 fit players."

Hussain's problems were eased by opener Michael Vaughan appearing to overcome the knee and shoulder injuries which prevented him fielding in Adelaide. These ailments did not affect his batting during the second test and his 177 was as good an innings as you are likely to see.

The Australian pace bowler Andy Bichel singled out Vaughan as their No 1 target.

Hinting that Vaughan will receive plenty of bouncers, Bichel said: "There is no doubt that at Adelaide he looked uncomfortable at times against short-pitched bowling. He will get a few in this test match. We'll be targeting him."

Not that Bichel will be bowling himself. He was dropped in favour of speedster Brett Lee, who will make his first appearance in the series.

Hussain, on being told his in-form batsman was in for special treatment, tersely replied: "Just check the scorebook in Adelaide."

He also dismissed Australia's perceived mental dominance.

"Australia don't have a psychological hold on us. It's purely a technical and ability thing. The sooner we watch them, watch how they practise, watch how they play the game and their disciplines when they bowl and bat, the sooner we'll get better.

"Every player, however good they are, have a weakness. That could be anything. It might be the biggest pitch-up, half-volley, slowest ball ever, but every player has a weakness."

As well as the bouncer barrage, Vaughan will also have to contend with the physical nature of the Waca, the most remote test venue in the world.

Unlike Adelaide, where the boundary is short, square of the wicket, the area where a hook shot would end up at the Waca is huge.

This increases the risk of playing such strokes because, even though redevelopment has brought the boundary in 20m on either side, clearing it on the full would be a major achievement.

The pitch will not help Vaughan, either. It is unique. The Waca was, for many years, the place where the fast bowler got his own back on the batsman because it provided him with the quickest, bounciest pitch in the world.

Curtly Ambrose took seven wickets for one run here in February 1993 and, even though it has become slower, Australia's opening pair of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie have enjoyed bowling here. They have taken 50 wickets between them at this venue.

The curator, Richard Winter, is attempting to return the pitch to its former glory, so the surface is only two years old.

"There will not be a lot in it for the spinners and it will be a bit pacier than it has been. If I won the toss I would bat first," he said.

Refusing to become involved in a bouncer war with the Australians, Hussain said: "Sticking it up the Aussies is not the way to go about winning test matches. It is more than just bowling quick here. Your length is crucial because you can get carried away with the bouncer."

The fact that spin bowlers seldom play a significant role is backed up by Shane Warne's poor record here. In eight tests he has taken only 20 wickets at a cost of 43.90 each.

Such statistics will not give Richard Dawson a huge amount of encouragement and could well motivate England to play seven batsmen and four fast bowlers.

With Stephen Harmison sure to play and Caddick doubtful, Matthew Hoggard, Tudor and Silverwood could be competing for two spots.

England (from): Nasser Hussain (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, John Crawley, Alec Stewart, Craig White, Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard, Robert Key, Alex Tudor, Steve Harmison, Richard Dawson, Chris Silverwood, Paul Collingwood.

Australia: Steve Waugh (capt), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee.

- INDEPENDENT