England dealt a blow, Finn to miss Test
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: England fast bowler Steven Finn will miss the first Test against Pakistan with a stress injury in his left foot.
The 26-year-old Finn was in contention to start for England in Abu Dhabi starting Tuesday, but he felt pain in his foot during a warm-up game in which he took 4-16.
“It is a bitter blow ... his performance in the warm-up game was good,” England captain Alastair Cook said. “We’ll monitor him and hope he could be right for the second test.”
For Pakistan, leg-spinner Yasir Shah hurt his back while bowling at the nets on Monday and is now a doubt for the opening test.
The 29-year-old Shah has been key to Pakistan since the departure of Saeed Ajmal, who was banned by the International Cricket Council for an illegal bowling action.
Shah has 61 dismissals in 10 matches, and was Pakistan’s most effective bowler in its last test series against Sri Lanka, capturing 24 wickets in three tests.
“I hope he will be fine. We cannot say anything at the moment,” Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq said. “We are hoping that he will be all right by tomorrow.
“We think it is just a case of back spasms. He tried to bowl a delivery in the nets and the spikes got stuck and he felt something in the back. It could be a big blow for us. Obviously, he is a key player for us, especially in these conditions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so we are very concerned.”
Pakistan has called up leftarm spinner Zafar Gohar Khan as a precaution. The 20-year-old took five wickets in the two practice matches against England last week.
On Sunday, batsman Azhar Ali was ruled out after injuring a toe in the recent series against Zimbabwe. The first Test starts Tuesday at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.