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Matthew Hoggard is set to be given until the morning of the match to prove his fitness for the first Test against Pakistan here at Lord’s and bolster what will otherwise be an inexperienced attack.

The swing specialist, ever-present in England’s last 32 Tests, sustained a bizarre injury to his right, bowling, hand when it was trodden on by Yorkshire colleague Tim Bresnan while the pair were warming-up on Saturday during the A team’s draw against Pakistan at Canterbury.

Hoggard, who had stitches inserted into his hand, bowled with a cricket ball during practice at Lord’s on Wednesday, where the first Test of a four-match series starts on Thursday, but afterwards England stand-in captain Andrew Strauss said it was too early to say if the 29-year-old seamer would be fit in time.

“He did some useful work in the nets today and every hour the hand is getting better. But we are going to give him as long as possible to prove his fitness,” Strauss told reporters after practice.

And Strauss, leading a side without Ashes-winning pacemen Andrew Flintoff (ankle) and Simon Jones (knee), as well as reserve quick James Anderson (back), said Hoggard would have to do more than prove his bowling fitness.
Source:The News

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