Stewart under scrutiny for Peshawar contest

Alec Stewart will continue to come under close scrutiny this week but this time by the England coach and captain who are looking for signs that their wicketkeeper batsman has suffered no adverse effects from the match-fixing allegations.

After the publication of the Indian police report last week, in which bookmaker MK Gupta alleged that Stewart had received £5000 for weather and pitch information, the former England captain admitted he had been in a 'state of shock'.

Now Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain are watching him closely to see if the ordeal has taken its toll on his concentration, ahead of the preparations for the first Test match starting on November 15 in Lahore.

Although denying the allegations in a press conference and in his own newspaper column, Stewart is said to look drained and distracted and his state of mind is causing concern among England's selectors who are trying to make their final choices for this week's warm-up match against a Governor's XI in Peshawar.

"We would very much like him to play this week but we'll have to wait and see," said Fletcher.

"I'm pretty confident he'll play but the events of the last week have to be of some concern. When you see one of the team go through that you have to look at his behaviour and keep him concentrating on the cricket.

"He took a bit of a knock as an individual and you want him thinking about the cricket and not having his attention taken away on other things.

"Alec can hopefully now get involved in his cricket and get himself ready for the Test because he's a crucial player in this side as one of our all-rounders."

Stewart hinted in his newspaper column that he may retire after next summer's Ashes series but according to Fletcher, it is too early to say whether this is a serious possibility since Stewart had been hit hard by the allegations and needed time to get back to normal.

"This is something we have no control over. Alec might be sparky tomorrow morning but it could take two days or two weeks and we're going to have to play it day by day."

A batting line-up without Stewart would pose Fletcher and Hussain with additional problems over selection, despite the resounding win in Rawalpindi last week.

Fletcher said: "It was a very good performance. The only criticism I'd make is that our batsmen only had one chance and I'd have liked them to have a second go at it, but we went out to win the game and I thought the guys played well.

"The real business end of the tour starts from here. It's very important the side we pick in this week's game so that they can start preparing themselves for the Test match."