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England wait on Broad, Prior
Duo doubtful for Champions Trophy semi-final
Last updated: 1st October 2009
England will wait until the morning of the match to decide on the participation of Stuart Broad and Matt Prior in Friday's ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia.
Broad has been diagnosed with a torn muscle in his left buttock after having a scan on Thursday morning.
The Nottinghamshire seamer later bowled at full capacity in the nets at Centurion but is restricted to certain movements.
He underwent an initial fitness check on Thursday under the supervision of England physio Kirk Russell, doctor Mike Stone, captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower.
Having begun a series of exercises, Broad halted midway through one of them and hunkered down with hands on knees. He flexed his left leg moments later but was clearly unhappy with something.
Following further discussions between the collective, a bat was brought into the middle and Broad simulated running between the wickets with three shuttle runs.
However, he did not appear to be moving freely and he left for the dressing room with Russell and Stone as the group broke up.
Fitness test
"He's got a little tear in one of the muscles in his buttock and we are going to give him a little bit more time to see if he's going to be fit," said Flower.
"We gave him a fitness test out there - he bowled at full pace in the nets but there are other factors like bending, running and fielding.
"He's not 100 per cent fit at the moment but we want to give him a chance."
Broad first complained of tightness in his left buttock during the Group B defeat to New Zealand last Tuesday, when he claimed four wickets.
Flower, however, is not keen on giving the 23-year-old a painkilling injection to get him on the field at Centurion despite admitting his absence would be a blow.
"We'd take medical advice on him having a jab because we don't want to damage him further," added Flower.
"It would be a blow to lose him because he is starting to hit his straps as a bowler.
"He came in and wasn't at his best at the start of the tournament, but watching him bowl in the last game it looks like he's hitting them again."
Should Broad be ruled out, Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan is the obvious like-for-like replacement in England's squad.
Prior improving
Wicketkeeper Prior, meanwhile, took part in practice following a virus and his availability for the day-nighter against Australia will also be decided in the morning.
Eoin Morgan was pressed into emergency duty behind the stumps in the group matches against South Africa and New Zealand but England have ICC permission to call in stand-by wicketkeeper Steve Davies if Prior is again unfit.
"Prior is still struggling a bit actually," revealed Flower. "He's had this virus which has knocked him quite hard. He practised with us today for the first time but struggled through it.
"We're not sure whether he is fit enough to take part in a 100-over game and we'd consider replacing him with Steve. We stuck with Eoin Morgan for the New Zealand game because it wasn't a must-win game, but the keeping side of things and taking sharp chances is important.
"We've checked with the ICC and they are okay with us making that decision in the morning and getting their permission to change him."
Australia have added David Hussey to their squad after vice-captain Michael Clarke was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a lower back injury.
Clarke's absence will not cause any undue disruption as the problem had prevented him from playing in any of their group games.
Australia are likely to retain the same starting XI that scraped past Pakistan by two wickets on Wednesday.
Ricky Ponting's men will be aiming to continue their recent domination of England in the 50-over format, having claimed a 6-1 triumph in the NatWest Series on English soil in September.
Australia (from): R Ponting (capt), D Bollinger, C Ferguson, N Hauritz, B Hilfenhaus, J Hopes, D Hussey, M Hussey, M Johnson, B Lee, T Paine (wkt), P Siddle, A Voges, S Watson, C White
England (from): A Strauss, J Anderson, R Bopara, T Bresnan, S Broad, P Collingwood, J Denly, E Morgan, G Onions, M Prior (wkt), A Rashid, O Shah, R Sidebottom, G Swann, L Wright
On standby: S Davies (wkt)
Duo doubtful for Champions Trophy semi-final
Last updated: 1st October 2009
England will wait until the morning of the match to decide on the participation of Stuart Broad and Matt Prior in Friday's ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia.
Broad has been diagnosed with a torn muscle in his left buttock after having a scan on Thursday morning.
The Nottinghamshire seamer later bowled at full capacity in the nets at Centurion but is restricted to certain movements.
He underwent an initial fitness check on Thursday under the supervision of England physio Kirk Russell, doctor Mike Stone, captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower.
Having begun a series of exercises, Broad halted midway through one of them and hunkered down with hands on knees. He flexed his left leg moments later but was clearly unhappy with something.
Following further discussions between the collective, a bat was brought into the middle and Broad simulated running between the wickets with three shuttle runs.
However, he did not appear to be moving freely and he left for the dressing room with Russell and Stone as the group broke up.
Fitness test
"He's got a little tear in one of the muscles in his buttock and we are going to give him a little bit more time to see if he's going to be fit," said Flower.
"We gave him a fitness test out there - he bowled at full pace in the nets but there are other factors like bending, running and fielding.
"He's not 100 per cent fit at the moment but we want to give him a chance."
Broad first complained of tightness in his left buttock during the Group B defeat to New Zealand last Tuesday, when he claimed four wickets.
Flower, however, is not keen on giving the 23-year-old a painkilling injection to get him on the field at Centurion despite admitting his absence would be a blow.
"We'd take medical advice on him having a jab because we don't want to damage him further," added Flower.
"It would be a blow to lose him because he is starting to hit his straps as a bowler.
"He came in and wasn't at his best at the start of the tournament, but watching him bowl in the last game it looks like he's hitting them again."
Should Broad be ruled out, Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan is the obvious like-for-like replacement in England's squad.
Prior improving
Wicketkeeper Prior, meanwhile, took part in practice following a virus and his availability for the day-nighter against Australia will also be decided in the morning.
Eoin Morgan was pressed into emergency duty behind the stumps in the group matches against South Africa and New Zealand but England have ICC permission to call in stand-by wicketkeeper Steve Davies if Prior is again unfit.
"Prior is still struggling a bit actually," revealed Flower. "He's had this virus which has knocked him quite hard. He practised with us today for the first time but struggled through it.
"We're not sure whether he is fit enough to take part in a 100-over game and we'd consider replacing him with Steve. We stuck with Eoin Morgan for the New Zealand game because it wasn't a must-win game, but the keeping side of things and taking sharp chances is important.
"We've checked with the ICC and they are okay with us making that decision in the morning and getting their permission to change him."
Australia have added David Hussey to their squad after vice-captain Michael Clarke was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a lower back injury.
Clarke's absence will not cause any undue disruption as the problem had prevented him from playing in any of their group games.
Australia are likely to retain the same starting XI that scraped past Pakistan by two wickets on Wednesday.
Ricky Ponting's men will be aiming to continue their recent domination of England in the 50-over format, having claimed a 6-1 triumph in the NatWest Series on English soil in September.
Australia (from): R Ponting (capt), D Bollinger, C Ferguson, N Hauritz, B Hilfenhaus, J Hopes, D Hussey, M Hussey, M Johnson, B Lee, T Paine (wkt), P Siddle, A Voges, S Watson, C White
England (from): A Strauss, J Anderson, R Bopara, T Bresnan, S Broad, P Collingwood, J Denly, E Morgan, G Onions, M Prior (wkt), A Rashid, O Shah, R Sidebottom, G Swann, L Wright
On standby: S Davies (wkt)