All-rounder's back injury means early plane home

Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of England's three-Test series in Pakistan after failing to prove his fitness to bowl.

The Lancashire all-rounder's selection for the first-class stage of the tour was conditional on his convincing the England management that his long-standing back problem was solved and that he could deliver 10 to 15 overs a day.

But after Flintoff failed to bowl in the nets for the second day in a row, England are to call up Surrey's Alex Tudor as his replacement for the Tests. Tudor will fly out with the other four Test players on Sunday.

Flintoff will play in the three one-day internationals in Pakistan purely as a batsman, and is still part of the one-day squad for Sri Lanka in the New Year. In between he will return home for further examinations.

England Coach Duncan Fletcher said: "Andrew is struggling to bowl and we have already said that if he couldn't bowl by the end of the one-day series he wouldn't be staying on for the Tests.

"He was pretty disappointed when we had a chat with him last night. I still believe he probably will be able to bat at Test level but at this stage, to get the balance of the side right, it's crucial we bring in another all-rounder."

It's been a wretched six months for Flintoff, who lost his Test place because of back trouble last summer and missed England's series victory over West Indies. He was picked for this winter's tours but couldn't bowl much in Kenya or since England's arrival in Pakistan this week.

Physiotherapist Dean Conway said: "The selectors wanted him to be able to bowl but he hasn't really got to stage one out here, which is why we've been so careful with him. He had an injection late on in the summer as a further procedure but that obviously hasn't worked."