UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLAND AND AUSTRALIA PREPARE FOR SECOND ASHES TEST MATCH AT LORDS

Record ID: 338037

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLAND AND AUSTRALIA PREPARE FOR SECOND ASHES TEST MATCH AT LORDS
  • Date: 17th July 2001
  • Summary: LONDON, UK (JULY 17, 2001) 1. WIDE SHOT OF LORD'S 2. AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS TRAINING 3. BRETT LEE WITH PHYSIO 4. COACH JOHN BUCHANAN SAYING ALL THE PLAYERS HAVE "COME THROUGH WITH FLYING COLOURS" 5. BRETT LEE BOWLING IN NETS 6. LEE SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS 7. BUCHANAN SAYING : " IF I WERE A SELECTOR I'D PICK THE
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVAY7Q3DINUW6X6S5J6RUGMPTZR
  • Story Text: Australia are set to go into the second Ashes test against
    England with an unchanged side after declaring injured
    trio Brett Lee, Matthew Hayden and Michael Slater available
    for selection.



    Coach John Buchanan said: "Hayden was the one giving
    us a little concern but he seems to have pulled through. They
    all came through training with flying colours."
    Buchanan, who is not one of the Australian selectors,
    added: "If I had any input I would suspect we would look at
    the same 12 we had at Edgbaston (in the first test)."
    But opening batsman Hayden appeared to be limping after
    Tuesday's practice at Lord's.

    He injured his right knee while fielding in the warm-up
    game against Somerset, which ended on Monday, and is likely to
    be replaced by Justin Langer if he fails to fully recover for
    the second test, which starts on Thursday.

    Pace bowler Lee has recovered from a rib problem that kept
    him out of the Somerset game, but he remains under pressure
    after Damien Fleming, his main rival, continued his prolific
    tour by taking eight wickets in that match, including six for
    59 in the first innings.

    Lee, regarded as the world's fastest bowler, was selected
    for the tour following elbow surgery and was preferred to
    Fleming for the first test, but he gave up 71 runs without
    taking a wicket in the first innings before taking two for 37
    in the second as Australia won by an innings and 118 runs.

    Buchanan added: "Fleming is in good form, which he showed
    at Somerset, as did some other batsmen, notably Langer."
    Slater, Hayden's opening partner, has shrugged off a blow
    on the hand, inflicted by Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar
    who was guesting for Somerset against the Australians.

    On the England side Graham Thorpe has warned England fans
    not to see him as a "miracle cure" if he is recalled for the
    second Ashes test at Lord's starting on Thursday.

    Thorpe, England's key batsman, has been rushed back into
    the injury-ravaged squad despite not playing for six weeks
    following a calf strain.

    The decision reflects England's deep concerns after they
    were thrashed by Australia by an innings and 118 runs in the
    first match of the five-test series at Edgbaston.

    The Surrey left-hander, who watched the match on
    television, said: "I feel the calf is 100 percent. It feels
    fine. If it was slight problem it would be a big gamble for me
    to play."
    Thorpe, batting at number four or five, has been England's
    best player over the past season, averaging 76 in the recent
    two-test series against Pakistan.

    England go into the Lord's test -- where they have not
    beaten the Australians since 1934 -- without captain Nasser
    Hussain, who broke a finger in the first test, and number
    three batsman Michael Vaughan, who is out with knee trouble.

    Former captain Michael Atherton has agreed to stand in as
    skipper.


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