Dickinson Six Nations worry
Scotland prop Alasdair Dickinson is set to miss the start of the RBS Six Nations as he recovers from a foot injury he picked up while playing for Edinburgh in the 25-12 loss to Glasgow Warriors on Boxing Day.
The experienced loosehead missed Scotland’s summer tour to Japan with a hamstring injury and will now almost certainly be ruled out of the Six Nations opener against Ireland at BT Murrayfield on 4 February. Head coach Vern Cotter will name his squad on Wednesday.
Jonny Bairstow deemed England’s heavy defeat by India A in Mumbai “a kick in the backside” but nothing to fret about ahead of Sunday’s one-day international series opener in Pune.
On Tuesday, England hunted down a steep target of 305 in Mumbai, against a home XI packed with internationals and led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
But, less than 48 hours later, they were served a reality check by what was, on paper, a considerably weaker opponent who nevertheless dismissed the tourists for 282 and romped home by six wickets with 62 balls remaining.
Bairstow top-scored with a fluent 64 at number three but was merely keeping the position warm for Joe Root, who arrived in the early hours of the morning and will return for the first one-day international.
England will surely be better for his presence in the top order but Bairstow insisted the defeat at the Brabourne Stadium was a timely nudge rather than anything more profound.
“It’s probably a good thing it’s happened here and not next time in Pune, it gives us a chance to refocus and it’s kind of a kick in the backside,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s too much concern. As a side we’ve been doing well and scoring 300 pretty regularly. Perhaps it was a little blip today but there’s nothing to really worry about.”
There are certainly players in the camp who go into the opener short of their best, notably captain Eoin Morgan who has made three runs in two innings since touching down in India.
The 30-year-old was well caught on three as he returned to England colours for the first time since missing the tour of Bangladesh and followed up with a golden duck, chipping a soft return catch to Shahbaz Nadeem.
There was little cheer among the bowling unit either, Chris Woakes going wicketless for the second match in a row and key spinner Adil Rashid struggling to find a consistent length.