Andrew Caddick is to have a second injection in 48 hours today in a desperate attempt to overcome the back spasm which has made him a major doubt for the crucial third Ashes Test against Australia.
Caddick suffered the injury during the innings-and-51-runs defeat in Adelaide earlier this week, forcing him out of the attack after tea on the third day while he was relegated to No11 in the batting order.
He was given a steroid injection yesterday to try to speed up the healing process and he was absent from the start of training at the WACA today while he had a pain-killing jab which England’s management hoped would allow him to bowl in the nets tomorrow and enable them to assess his fitness before the Test, which begins on Friday (2.30am UK time).
With Darren Gough having been sent home a fortnight ago to have further treatment on his long-standing knee injury, Caddick is England’s most experienced bowler left, and his style is also suited to the Perth surface as he proved earlier in the tour by claiming 4 for 49 against Western Australia.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a very important day for Andrew Caddick to prove his fitness for the Test match,” stressed captain Nasser Hussain.
“If he’s 100% fit and can do a job for England then he’ll play.”
If Caddick is absent, all-rounder Craig White would suddenly become the most experienced bowler England have at their disposal while the remainder of the attack would be made up of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and possibly Chris Silverwood if England decide on a four-pronged pace attack on a pitch which is believed to be the quickest in Perth for many years.
“We’ve played poorly in the two Tests so you have to really start afresh on selection,” admitted Hussain.
“There’s only about half the side that warrant a place on form at the moment and therefore everyone else is in the mixer whether they’ve played one game or no games as long as they’re fit.
“Everyone is in the mixer for selection which is why the next 48 hours is very important. That doesn’t show confusion among us, it just shows that everyone here is here to play for England and if someone puts their hand up in the nets and bowls well they’ve got a chance of strolling out on Friday.”
The Hampshire batsman John Crawley is still rated as no more than 60% after sustaining a slight tear in his thigh, but England are more optimistic about Michael Vaughan’s shoulder problem, sustained when he was hit by a Jason Gillespie bouncer during the previous Test.
Vaughan had a thorough fielding drill at the WACA following England’s arrival in Perth yesterday, but England do have bigger concerns about his right knee, which was operated at the end of last summer, but almost ruled him out of the last Test when he twisted it during the warm-ups.
“We certainly don’t want him hobbling through a Test match because he’s such an asset to the England cricket team and we do have to look after his future as well with the one-dayers and the amount of cricket ahead,” added Hussain.
“We’re still definitely in an Ashes series and Michael’s an important performer for us, but we need him performing like an international cricket and being able to do everything.
“His shoulder has only been a concern over the last week, but in the long term we have to make sure we’re doing the right thing by him and his knee.
“The physio has spoken to the person who operated and he has informed us that he can’t do any more damage by carrying on playing.”
Marcus Trescothick, meanwhile, is expected to be fit after suffering a bout of food poisoning.
