Tait waits on Twenty20 fate

Australia's physiotherapist is not convinced Shaun Tait will be fit enough to take part in the Twenty20 World Championship and the only reason he has not been ruled out already is because of the tournament's small workload. Tait has struggled to recover from an elbow operation in June - a subsequent infection prevented him from attending a bowling camp in Brisbane last week - and the prospect of a maximum of four overs a match is what is keeping him in contention for next month's tour to South Africa.

Alex Kountouris, the physio, and Trefor James, the team doctor, were due to speak with Tait in Melbourne on Friday to decide if he should remain in the squad. "I'm not 100% convinced he'll be right to go so there is some doubt over him," Kountouris told the Australian.

"The only reason I'm harbouring thoughts of him going is because it's a Twenty20 tournament and it's just four overs a game. If we were going into a one-day series or a Test series he'd almost certainly be ruled out already."

The seven-match India contest begins on September 29 and Tait has developed into a strong one-day performer after his 23 wickets at 20.30 at the World Cup. Kountouris expected to delay a final decision on Tait until the pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast at the end of the month.

"If he's not right we're going to err on the side of caution and give him that bit of extra time to be right for India," Kountouris said. "He's making slow progress." Tait started gentle bowling last week.

Kountouris told the paper the Twenty20 tournament was the ideal lead-up for Tait and his team-mates because of its short length. "One-dayers are a longer game where he'd have to bowl ten overs and he'd need more fitness so it would be nice if we could get him to the Twenty20 to have a nice build-up," he said. Australia's opening match is against Zimbabwe on September 12 and if they reach the final they will play seven games in less than two weeks.