Onions out of first Test

England lose Durham seamer; no decision yet on Broad

Last updated: 10th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Onions out of first Test

Onions: Out with back injury

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England paceman Graham Onions will miss the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong after failing to recover from a back injury.

The visitors' bowling attack was already depleted by the absence of James Anderson from the tour and Ryan Sidebottom's early return home with a thigh injury.

The two most experienced seamers left in the squad, Onions and Stuart Broad, have both been struggling with back problems and sat out the drawn warm-up fixture with Bangladesh A.

Broad bowled 10 overs in the nets on Wednesday without feeling any discomfort and will be reassessed in the morning before a decision is made on his availability for the series opener, starting on Friday.

Durham seamer Onions has also been turning his arm over in practice, but he has not been able to overcome his troubles and will definitely miss the first of two Tests.

He has not been ruled out for the series, though, and could make a return for the second Test, taking place in Dhaka from March 20-24.

Options

It now looks increasingly likely that Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan, added to the squad following Sidebottom's departure, will earn his third Test cap in Chittagong.

Wickets for James Tredwell means that the option of playing two spinners is being seriously considered by coach Andy Flower, with Liam Plunkett, Ajmal Shahzad and Steven Finn the other pace options.

Middlesex rookie Finn, who stands at 6ft 7in, only arrived on the tour as cover but is now in contention for a Test debut after impressing against Bangladesh A.

"I wouldn't rule Finn out," said Flower. "He's been added to the party and he's a contender for selection.

"He's bowled with pace on a slow pitch and bowled with accuracy; he's quite a good prospect."

Comments (3)

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Scott Smith says...

Why can't they pick Steve Harmison he's a brilliant bowler!

Posted 18:53 10th March 2010

Lee Bramham says...

england have a big quickie capable of delivering the ball at 87-92 mph.his name is steve kirby but they wont play him.he`s 32-33 now and still being picked on england lions tours. the england hierachy obviously think he`s not a good "chap"

Posted 13:29 10th March 2010

Chris G says...

Until we can come up with a decent true pace bowler (87-92 mph) I see no way of climbing the rankings and will be lucky to maintain the #5 position. Granted the bowlers were currently using are all good bowlers but after an innings the opposition has them figured out and has absolutely no fear of any of them. I just find it extremely hard to believe that in all of England only Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmisson are capable of bowling at the 90+ mph mark. If this is the case then the ECB needs to get off their high horse and do whatever it takes to get Harmie back into the side and get Freddie as fit as humanly possible.

Posted 10:44 10th March 2010
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