Cricket: Injury misery has me tearing my hair out

THE doctors have told me that I can't bowl again for at least another month. That's the bad news.

The good news - if you can call it that - is that I could still play in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Final for Yorkshire as a batsman.

I've been pretty fed up during the last five or six days. Having bounced back from my other injuries, I'm now having to miss the rest of the Test series against India with a centimetre-long abdominal tear on the left-hand side.

It's so frustrating - and I have to thank the wife and kids for keeping me sane.

I really wanted to play in the final two Tests - especially at Headingley. I am also left with an agonising wait to learn if I have done enough this summer to win a place on the plane to Australia.

I hope and pray I have twisted the selectors' arms into picking me. But it's now out of my hands and all I can is sit and watch while the other England guys try their best to finish off India.

The injury just needs rest. So I'll just spend a few more days on Scarborough beach with the family than I thought I would over the next couple of weeks.

Mind you, I am determined to be walking out there with the other Yorkshire lads to face Somerset at Lord's on Saturday week. I want to help them win a trophy this season and I'm in better form with the bat than ever.

I've had a real up-and-down summer. One moment I'm out of the England scene, the next I'm back in, playing well and proving a lot of people wrong. Now I'm back on the outside fighting to recover from another setback.

I blame nobody but Lady Luck for my latest problem. It happened at the end of India's first innings when Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan frustrated us with their partnership.

Nasser Hussain came over and asked me to give them a few bouncers. When the England captain asks you to do something you don't say no. So, without being warmed up properly, I gave them everything I had - and I paid for it. I felt a pain in my side and knew I'd probably tried too hard.

I've been playing with a niggle in my side for six or seven weeks but that was not connected with what happened at Trent Bridge. At least I know why I did the injury and I will never again over-bowl without warming up first.

I have to live with it. And I have to make sure I don't bowl again too soon. The doctors say I could do far worse damage if I return with the ball before I am ready.

I feel sad for the Yorkshire fans who will now be unable to see either me or Darren Gough in the crucial third Test which starts on Thursday. But they are such devoted cricket followers that they will still make it a special occasion at Headingley.

It's well known that they like good cricket, a good drink and the chance to dress up. Well, we can expect the same party atmosphere this week - and with them shouting the team on there's no reason why the boys can't complete the job.

It's a shame we couldn't finish India off in Nottingham but the wicket played like so many others this summer. It starts off looking like a bowler's paradise but ends up a batsman's one.

Michael Vaughan's 197 was special. He's one Yorkshire player who has the chance to entertain his home fans.

Steve Harmison became the latest debutant to throw his hat into the ring for a winter touring spot. Like Simon Jones, he bowled with pace and menace. He is not as fast as Simon but he gets plenty of bounce, being a tall guy, and certainly troubled the likes of Tendulkar and Ganguly.

England have been unlucky with injuries but lucky to be able to call up exciting young replacements.

One day the selectors will be able to pick the same 11 in two successive matches. But for now it's a case of choosing the best fit line-up.

It all means I'll have to keep my fingers firmly crossed that I won't be at home this winter! I'd hate to miss out on Australia again.

Interview: GARY FITZGERALD

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