England forced to turn to last bowlers standing

England may threaten the world's supply of physiotherapists in their attempt to ensure they have enough fit bowlers for the World Cup. Three of their four fast bowlers and the first-choice reserve are in a race against time to recover from muscular injuries before the tournament starts in 17 days. It is possible that none of them will have recovered for England's first match of the tournament against Netherlands on 22 February.

But the date that really counts is 16 February, the day of England's first warm-up match against Canada in Fatullah, Bangladesh. Under the tournament regulations, countries must pick their sides in warm-up matches from their squads of 15 for the World Cup. So if England's walking wounded are not fit, their replacements must be named and cannot then be later replaced themselves unless injured.

England's tournament could be over before it has begun if they have to name a second-string attack with only Jimmy Anderson left from their original selection. Stuart Broad, who has an abdominal tear, Ajmal Shahzad, who suffered a hamstring pull this week, and Tim Bresnan, who is back in England receiving intensive treatment on a pulled calf muscle, are all doubtful to play against Canada. Chris Tremlett, the probable replacement for any of them, is suffering from a side strain. The team's leading spinner, Graeme Swann, has knee and back injuries and is not set to join the squad until his wife has given birth to the couple's first child the middle of the month.

Scans yesterday showed that Shahzad had a minor tear and Tremlett a side strain of similar gravity. Shahzad is expected to be fit for the World Cup but nobody was saying when.

Assuming none makes it in time, which is unlikely, England would have to ask the tournament's technical committee to let them name five replacements. They may have to calculate if they could risk playing a weakened side against the Netherlands and then bringing back players who are not match-honed for the second match, of six in their group, against India on 27 February.

England named eight fast bowlers in their original long list of 30 for the World Cup and the only one not to have seen action for the senior team this winter is Jade Dernbach. Anderson, Shahzad, Tremlett, Chris Woakes and Stephen Finn have already played in the one-day series and Liam Plunkett has flown 13,000 miles from St Kitts, where he was with England Lions, to be available for the seventh match on Sunday in Perth. The prospect of Plunkett opening the bowling for England in the World Cup against India is now not entirely fanciful.