England injuries mean New Zealand start favourites

England's one-day cricket carnival has arrived to join a packed summer of sport, with the NatWest Series kicking off tomorrow, as England play New Zealand in the opening floodlit game, the first of three in the series, at Old Trafford.

England fans will be hoping for a night of double celebration, with England's footballers taking on Portugal in their Euro 2004 game the same night. However, cricket will have to be the focus for fans who have bought a ticket for Old Trafford, as the football will not be shown live at the stadium, either on a big screen or on televisions around the ground.

On paper, this year's NatWest Series seems to be running along similar lines as last year's, with two fairly well-matched teams, and one much weaker and more inexperienced. Last year, Zimbabwe were David to the Goliaths of England and South Africa, this year West Indies look the most likely to fill that role. Despite holding England 2-2 at home earlier this year, they are only one position above Zimbabwe in the current one-day ratings.

England, after being so dominant in the Test series, will go into the one-dayers without two of their main one-day performers. Marcus Trescothick, who averaged 64.40 against New Zealand's tame Test attack, sprained his left ankle during fielding drills on Sunday, and Andrew Flintoff has paid the price for his fearsome bowling in the last Test a fortnight ago, picking up an injury to his left foot that will almost certainly keep him out of the tournament.

With this in mind, the England selectors have called up Surrey's Rikki Clarke and Michael Powell of Glamorgan, though only Clarke looks likely to start. Trescothick and Flintoff are England's two hardest players to replace - a quality opening batsman with the experience and ability to punish any bowling attack, and an allrounder capable of devastating the opposition with both bat and ball. Trescothick is the highest-rated one-day batsman in this tournament, at No 5 in the world, while Flintoff has made it to the top of the allrounders' list.

Clarke has been in woeful form this season - he has scored only 64 runs at an average of 16 and taken no wickets from 11 overs, which cost 91 runs. Apart from Clarke, England's allround options are thin on the ground, with Anthony McGrath, who seems to have been hanging around the squad for months, the only other candidate for the role. Powell has been instrumental in Glamorgan's one-day success this season, and his selection is trully deserved.

Robert Key seems the likely candidate to open with Michael Vaughan, with Geraint Jones possibly coming in as high as No. 3. Key proved against Glamorgan that he can score quickly and improvise well when required. He has been in excellent county form and scored a century in each innings for Kent against New Zealand earlier in the season. Sajid Mahmood is another with the chance to step onto the one-day stage.

Having had more than their fair share of injury problems during the Test series, New Zealand may finally have a fully fit squad to pick from for tomorrow's game. Daniel Vettori, who has been out of action for three weeks with a hamstring tear he picked up while fielding in the second Test, played for MCC against King's School, Macclesfield yesterday. New Zealand had been desperate to give him with some match practice before their first game, and provided he has suffered no ill effects, he will be considered for selection.

New Zealand are, on paper, favourites for the NatWest Series. Their recent one-day form has been exceptional, with nine victories in their last 11 one-day matches, including a 6-1 drubbing of South Africa, the world's second-best team. They also have plenty of experience in a squad that contains six players, including Vettori, with more than 100 one-day international appearances.

New Zealand's trump card is Chris Cairns, a man who is dangerous in Tests, but devastating in one-day cricket, even more so given his recent disappointments at Trent Bridge. Chris Harris, who brings with him the experience of 240 one-day matches, will also be vital to New Zealand's cause, both as a steady performer in the middle overs of an innings, and as a clinical finisher, second only to Michael Bevan as the man most effective in leading a run-chase.

Perhaps feeling a bit left out, a number of the West Indian players are now battling minor injuries, with the latest addition being Tino Best, who has picked up another leg niggle. Their bowling is raw and aggressive but very inexperienced, and has fired only in fits and starts, but the batting seems finally to have clicked, with Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shiv Chanderpaul and, crucially, Brian Lara all in good form. Dwayne Smith has shown glimpses of what he is capable of with some typically breezy knocks, but Ricardo Powell and Chris Gayle are yet to make any real impact on this tour.

In contrast to the well-planned New Zealand technique, West Indies have been rather more laid-back in their preparations for the one-day series. They have proved to be not the best of time-keepers either - the team arrived late for their last warm-up game, against Kent, and Brian Lara failed to turn up to the launch of the NatWest Series after missing his flight to Manchester.

Conversely, the bad weather has arrived early to give itself time to settle in before the cricket begins. Despite their plans not to show the football live during the cricket tomorrow, the organisers at Old Trafford may yet feel the need to change their arrangements.