England call up Plunkett

Liam Plunkett
12 April 2012

England have called up Liam Plunkett as bowling cover for the one-day international series against Australia.

Paceman Plunkett, who last played for his country during the tour of Bangladesh last year, will leave the England Lions tour of the Caribbean to join the squad ahead of the seventh and final match in Perth on Sunday.

England team director Andy Flower said: "Liam Plunkett has been part of the England performance programme and England Lions squad this winter so we are confident that he will be ready to play a role for England should the need arise."

Flower added: "We are waiting for an update on the injuries to Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett but with our preparations for the World Cup starting in less than a fortnight we need to prioritise getting our World Cup squad members fit and ready for the start of the tournament."

England's bowling stocks have been reduced to the bare bones in Australia with Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) and Chris Tremlett (side strain) the latest players to be struck down by injury. The duo will undergo scans on Tuesday with fears they will join Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann, who flew home early from the tour last week, on the sidelines.

Shahzad suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday's 51-run defeat in Brisbane, which saw England lose the series after falling behind 4-1, while Tremlett did not take his place due to a slight side strain.

With those concerns, England have opted to rush Plunkett from the other side of the world although, he will be unable to make it to Australia in time for Wednesday's sixth match in Sydney.

England were given some good injury news with long-term absentee Stuart Broad revealing he was ahead of schedule in his return from the stomach injury he suffered during the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.

The injury forced the 24-year-old to return home before Christmas but, after flying back to Australia to step up his recovery last week, the right-armer is hopeful he will be fit to return in England's first warm-up game against Canada in Dhaka on February 16.

"My recovery is going very well, I'm probably a little bit ahead of schedule," he said. "Hopefully by the end of this Australian tour I will have come off near to a full run-up. My aim is to try and play the first warm-up game of the World Cup which is still two and a half to three weeks away and I'm hopeful for that."

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