Hussain to play against PCB XI in bid to regain form

Nasser Hussain has surprisingly been named in the 12 for England's game against a PCB XI starting on Thursday.

The England skipper was expected to miss the game with a combination of back and hand injuries. His inclusion is testament to his determination to recover some batting form prior to the back-to-back Tests that follow the final warm-up game.

Hussain seemed to be returning to form in the one-day games in both Kenya and Pakistan, but his run of low Test scores shows no sign of ending.

Hussain will undergo a fitness test before the game, but on Tuesday he came through his first net session since a Wasim Akram delivery struck him on the right wrist (forcing him to retire hurt for the first time in a first-class innings) in the final moments of the Lahore Test.

If Hussain is not fit to play Alec Stewart will lead the team against the PCB XI. Stewart will play as a batsman only as Paul Nixon will have an opportunity to keep wicket. Yorkshire's Michael Vaughan will also play in the game after missing the Test due to a calf injury.

Graham Thorpe and Craig White have earned a rest after their heroics in the first Test, and there is also a break for the new ball pair of Caddick and Gough.

England (from): MA Atherton (Lancashire), ME Trescothick (Somerset), N Hussain (Essex, capt), MP Vaughan (Yorkshire), AJ Stewart (Surrey), A Flintoff (Lancashire), GA Hick (Worcestershire), PA Nixon (Kent, wkt), AJ Tudor (Surrey), AF Giles (Warwickshire), IDK Salisbury (Surrey), MJ Hoggard (Yorkshire).