Hoggard passed fit for first Test

Matthew Hoggard has been passed fit to play in the first npower Test against Zimbabwe, starting at Lord's tomorrow.

In a repeat of the discussions before last summer's Lord's Test against Sri Lanka, Nasser Hussain told reporters that England were still undecided whether to go into the match with an all-seam attack, or whether they should play a spinner. "If you believe there will be five days of cricket, in those conditions you need a spinner," said Hussain, adding: "If you feel it's not going to be a full game, you might not."

Hussain admitted that England were the favourites. "Even with injuries, we should expect to win but only if you are thoroughly professional. Anything less and we could come unstuck. They have a lot of character in their side. We should play well in these conditions but there are two sides in the equation."

Even if Hoggard is fit, England are still likely to go into the match with one of their most inexperienced attacks of recent years. James Anderson, who impressed at the World Cup, James Kirtley and Anthony McGrath - primarily a batsman but who can bowl medium-pace - are all set to make their Test debuts.

"There are three or four guys in the team who could be making their debuts at Lord's," said Hussain. "It's very exciting when a young player does well. There's no better feeling for a senior player. But there are times when the guys are on their own and there will be some real tests of character over the next few days."

While the new blood was a positive sign, Hussain confessed that the number of injuries to key bowlers was a concern. "It is just a worrying situation for English cricket in general. It's not just the centrally contracted players it is Chris Silverwood, Richard Johnson, and Alex Tudor. It's something to do with the amount of cricket played."

Asked if English bowlers were refusing to play through injuries as their predecessors had, Hussain replied: "They say John Lever used to jump in the bath and get on with it. But some of the injuries I've seen, I'm not sure the old-timers could have played through."

While England pondered strategy, Zimbabwe named their starting XI more than 24 hours before the start of the game.

Zimbabwe 1 Mark Vermeulen, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Stuart Carlisle, 4 Grant Flower, 5 Tatenda Taibu (wkt), 6 Sean Ervine, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Travis Friend, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Douglas Hondo.