Razzaq suffers bout of dizziness

Abdul Razzaq: will he play a further part in the MCG Test? © AFP

Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan allrounder, was admitted to a private hospital in Melbourne this morning after a bout of vomiting, dizziness and breathing difficulties. His illness has not yet been diagnosed, but it forced him to miss the third day's play of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Ambulance crews were called to the team hotel this morning after reports that Razzaq had fallen out of bed, suffered some loss of feeling in his legs, and had collapsed.

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, indicated that Razzaq was slightly better after being put under observation. "We haven't any real diagnosis as to what the problem was," he told the AAP news agency. "As a cricket coach, I'm not going to venture into the doctor's field. Whether he will be fit tomorrow is conjecture, I don't know. He can walk, but very slowly."

When Razzaq was admitted to hospital, Haroon Rashid, the Pakistan manager, told The Age, a Melbourne-based newspaper: "In the morning he complained so we took him to hospital, but otherwise everything [about him] seems fine."

Razzaq has had a listless series so far. He was out to a reckless hoick at Perth, and was then inexplicably strokeless in Pakistan's first innings at Melbourne, facing 76 deliveries to make an unbeaten 4. Observers suggested that he may have been over-compensating for a rash dismissal in the first Test.