Injury-hit Shahzad hoping for World Cup go-ahead

Shahzad injured his hamstring during Sunday's 51-run defeat in Brisbane which saw Australia take an unassailable 4-1 lead in the one-day international series.

A key member of England's bowling attack, Shahzad's injury is a major concern ahead of the forthcoming World Cup in India, especially with the likes of Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann already back in England recovering from calf and back problems respectively.

Chris Tremlett, another member of the one-day squad is also injured but Shahzad's is clearly the more pressing case because he was, unlike Tremlett, selected in the 15-man World Cup squad.

Both players were set to undergo scans in Australia overnight.

As a precaution, England coach Andy Flower yesterday revealed how Durham's Liam Plunkett would be called in as back-up.

"Liam Plunkett has been part of the England performance programme and England Lions squad this winter so we are confident that he will be ready to play a role for England should the need arise," said Flower. "We are waiting for an update on the injuries to Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett but with our preparations for the World Cup starting in less than a fortnight we need to prioritise getting our World Cup squad members fit and ready for the start of the tournament.

"We have two games left in this series and will be looking to end the tour with strong performances in Sydney and Perth."

England were given some good injury news yesterday with long-term absentee Stuart Broad revealing he was ahead of schedule in his return from the stomach injury he suffered during the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.

The injury forced the 24-year-old to return home before Christmas but, after flying back to Australia to step up his recovery last week, the right-armer is hopeful he will be fit to return in England's first warm-up game against Canada in Dhaka on February 16.

"My recovery is going very well, I'm probably a little bit ahead of schedule," he said. "I've probably bowled about 50-60 per cent yesterday and I've pulled up fine this morning.

"Hopefully by the end of this Australian tour I will have come off near to a full run-up. My aim is to try and play the first warm-up game of the World Cup which is still two-and-a-half to three weeks away. I'm hopeful for that."

Despite the number of injuries that have beset his fellow bowlers Broad is confident that England will have a clean bill of health when they play their World Cup opener against Holland on February 22 in Nagpur.

"The injuries are pretty minor so I don't think that is going to affect any balance to the World Cup squad or anything like that, but obviously it is a little bit frustrating in this series to have lost as many players as we have," he said. "It's been hard to find the right balance that we will go into the World Cup with. You can't do anything about injuries in sport that's just the way it happens.

"We've had a lot of cricket on this tour, I think we've done well with the amount of injuries."

While England were storming to their historic Ashes success, Broad was confined to the first stages of his rehabilitation in the cold of an English winter. It is a situation he has accepted as a part of sport, and he returned to the squad without a hint of resentment.

"I'm an England fan at the end of the day. It was great to see the lads perform so well in the Ashes," he said. "It was difficult because it was freezing snow and cold and obviously I was disappointed to miss out on those celebrations and the achievements but I still feel a part of the team.

"I'm now very glad to be back. It's great to be around on a match-day. I trained very hard at home, I only had a couple of days off."

England's World Cup group match against co-hosts India will take place in Bangalore.

The February 27 fixture was pencilled in for Kolkata's 100,000 stadium Eden Gardens but the venue lost the match last week after an ICC inspection team decided it would not be ready in time.