England v India, 6th ODI, The Oval

England call up Wright as cover

Cricinfo staff

September 3, 2007

Andrew Flintoff felt more soreness after the Old Trafford ODI © Getty Images

Luke Wright, the Sussex allrounder who is part of England's Twenty20 World Championship squad, has been called into the one-day squad to cover for Andrew Flintoff, Ravi Bopara and Chris Tremlett.

England are still hopeful that Flintoff will be available for the sixth one-day international against India, at The Oval, on Wednesday after he was ruled out of the fifth match at Headingley with a sore left ankle.

Bopara took a blow on his right thumb when he tried to take a return catch off Gautam Gambhir during India's innings. He immediately left the field, one ball into his second over, and went to hospital for x-rays where a dislocation and minor fracture were confirmed. He batted after taking a painkilling injection, but bowling and fielding will be the problem.

Meanwhile Tremlett, who missed the Headingley match with an injury to his right foot, had an injection on Monday and won't be available at The Oval. He will be reassessed ahead of the final ODI, at Lord's, on Saturday.

However, Ryan Sidebottom has been cleared to rejoin the squad after recovering from the side strain he picked up during the final Test at The Oval. He was denied match practice on Sunday when Nottinghamshire's Pro40 match against Lancashire, at Old Trafford, was washed out.

Flintoff is expected to rejoin the England squad for training at The Oval on Tuesday. "I feel for him," said coach Peter Moores. "He has been great since he has been back. He has had a real buzz about him, a real energy and people have seen that when he has been on the field.

"You could see he had his passion back which is what he is like when he plays his best cricket. He has been a real boost for the squad and has been involved in deciding how we should play in one-day cricket, which has been really helpful for myself, Paul Collingwood and the team.

"The people I have spoken to so far are still pretty optimistic and he may be okay on Wednesday, then he can get on and play the sort of cricket he loves to do. All we can do is go through the right processes and keep our fingers crossed that the ankle will settle down. It isn't too major and he can get himself away, then it becomes a manageable problem."

Both Flintoff and Bopara are now in doubt for the Twenty20 squad which will fly out to South Africa the day after the final ODI against India on September 9. England's first game is against Zimbabwe, at Cape Town, on September 13.

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