Cricket: England troubled by loss of Lewis

It is rare for a cricket team to be constantly at full strength, but quite another thing to have two key players taken away suddenly. That is the situation facing England at Lord's this morning, when they begin the important first Test against Pakistan without Nasser Hussain and Chris Lewis. Both players failed fitness tests yesterday and, with only 13 players selected, both Nick Knight and Simon Brown will play, the latter making his debut at the age of 27.

Knight, himself a victim of a fractured finger in the Edgbaston Test against India, will slot back into the opening position, with Alec Stewart dropping a place to assume Hussain's role at No 3. But if the batting order is only slightly disrupted, Lewis's absence from the bowling line- up makes it one of the greenest selected.

With only 24 England appearances between them, Dominic Cork - a veritable veteran with 13 caps - will have to be at his aggressive best if England are to bowl Pakistan out twice.

Lewis, who has looked impressive so far this summer, will be sorely missed. As the one bowler with real pace - a point he proved when he clocked 83mph on the speed gun during net practice - Lewis would have been crucial in keeping the Pakistan batsmen roughed up and on the back foot. They are by nature a impetuous lot, but if they are allowed to settle and build big scores, England's batsmen will find themselves under greater pressure than usual.

It is also the first time that England have played two left-arm pace bowlers, an unusual choice but one which Atherton felt perfectly at ease with during nets yesterday. "I don't see that there is a problem," he said.

"Teams often play three or four right-armers. They are different types of bowlers. Alan Mullally has more pace and bounce while Brown has that priceless asset of swing. [Pakistan] have lots of left-handed batsmen, and we think this change of angle might pose them problems."

With both Atherton and David Lloyd having spent much of the morning giving evidence in the Botham/Lamb v Imran Khan case in Court 13 on The Strand, England's preparations were less than ideal and Lloyd, in particular, appeared flustered as England went about their practice.

Pakistan, on the other hand, appear confident and ready to show their passionate supporters that they are back to winning ways. "We are all fit and relaxed," Wasim Akram,the captain, revealed. "I feel there will definitely be a result. We're here to play positive cricket. With variety in our bowling and experience in our batting I know we can achieve victory."

Unlike just about every other team that plays at Lord's - bar Middlesex - Pakistan are considering the unconventional approach of playing two spinners. However, much will depend on Wasim's assessment of the pitch this morning. If the moisture content is low he may play the extra spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, whose youthful off-breaks would complement the leg-spin of Mushtaq Ahmed.

However, with showery rain keeping the pitch under wraps for most of yesterday, any water present is likely to be retained, and the extra seam bowler seems the more likely option. The final choice between Atar-ur- Rehman and Mohammad Akram is likely to go the former's way on previous experience.

Whoever Wasim finally picks, it will in all probability be the least of England's problems. Before they even start thinking about the choice of fourth bowler, they will have to contend with Wasim, Waqar and Mushtaq: two sensational fast bowlers and a spinner second only to Shane Warne in terms of turning matches.

With the publication of several books and the continuing saga in the High Court helping to focus on the negative history between the two sides, both captains were quick to play down the possibility of this being an ill-tempered series.

"I think it is important that both sets of players retain their perspective," Atherton said. "The cricket will be hard and competitive, but it is important we strive to maintain good relations off the field, and I think we've got a good start with me and Was [Akram] being good mates."

England have not won a series against Pakistan since 1982 and will be keen to prove their series win against India was no one-off. Likewise Pakistan, who after a period of calm after the disappointments of the World Cup, are eager for a return to form. After winning here in 1982 and 1992, they are the bookmakers' firm favourites, a position a disrupted England will have to play exceedingly well to upset.

ENGLAND (v Pakistan, first Test, Lord's, today): M A Atherton (capt), N V Knight, A J Stewart, G P Thorpe, G A Hick, M A Ealham, R C Russell (wkt), I D K Salisbury, D G Cork, S J E Brown, A D Mullally.

PAKISTAN (from): Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Asif Mujtaba, Rashid Latif (wkt), Wasim Akram (capt), Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Shahid Nazir, Ata-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Akram.

Umpires: P Willey and S Bucknor.

Third umpire: J W Holder.

Match referee: P van der Merwe (South Africa).