England lose key batsman

LONDON: England’s key batsman Mark Butcher will be absent when the First Test against the West Indies begins today at Lord’s. Left-hander Butcher was ruled out with a whiplash injury suffered in a car accident on Tuesday, breaking a streak of 42 successive matches for England. His No 3 spot will be filled by the inexperienced Robert Key. The 25-year-old Key has only one half century in his previous eight Tests, but averages 90 per innings for Kent in this year’s county championship. England are further handicapped as Andrew Flintoff is unlikely to bowl due to a bone spur on his left ankle. The charismatic all-rounder, who scored two centuries in England’s unsuccessful NatWest Series one-day campaign, will play only as a batsman. The final choice for England’s selectors will be between fast bowlers Simon Jones and James Anderson. “Butcher is a massive loss,” captain Michael Vaughan said. “He’s probably been our most consistent player for two years. But I always say when you lose a player, it gives another player an opportunity.”

England discovered that in their 2004 home series opener against New Zealand in May at the same venue. Vaughan was ruled out with an injury, and left-hander Andrew Strauss debuted with a century followed by 83 in the second innings. Strauss’ success prompted veteran Nasser Hussain  to retire as England blanked the Kiwis 3-0. “The Test side has done exceptionally well this year,” Vaughan said. “We’ve won six out of seven test matches. We’ve played fantastic cricket, entertaining cricket and beaten two  good teams.” England have jumped into second spot in the ICC Test rankings behind Australia, following their  3-0 win over the West Indies in the Caribbean and the success against New Zealand. “There is a good buzz about the test team,” Vaughan said. “As soon as you arrive you feel everyone kind of knows their roles within the squad.” “We’ve won the last two series we’ve played in a good manner, and that’s very important that the opposition don’t fancy playing you.”

The West Indies have enjoyed a satisfying build-up to the Test series with a victory over the MCC and a dominant draw against Sri Lanka “A” in their two First-Class matches. “In the batting department, we’ve performed really well,” captain Brian Lara said. “Of the eight batsmen we brought here, six have centuries which is really good.” “Bowling is a bit worrying. I think the run rate at which the opposition has been scoring against us is something that we have to try to correct.” The bowling problems may prompt Lara and his fellow selectors to rely on all-rounders, Dwayne Bravo, Omari Banks and Dwayne Smith to support two specialist pacers in Tino Best and  Pedro Collins. Fidel Edwards has taken one expensive wicket in the two First-Class matches on tour while Jermaine Lawson went wicketless in the final warm-up over the weekend. Both could miss out as  Bravo, the 20-year-old all-rounder, is given his Test debut. Banks, the off-spinner would complete an inexperienced bowling lineup. “England are a team that’s definitely moving upwards,” Lara said. “Our job is really and truly to stall that process, and we’re going to try as best as possible to do that.”

Teams:                            
England (from): Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Robert Key, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Simon  Jones, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.
West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs, Dwayne Bravo, Omari Banks, Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Sylvester Joseph, Carlton Baugh Jr., Ravi Rampaul.