da brwin： LEEDS, England – Steve Waugh has made a shock appearance in the nets atHeadingley, fuelling speculation he might recover from a torn calfmuscle in time for next week’s Fifth Ashes Test at The Oval
Will Swanton15-Aug-2001LEEDS, England – Steve Waugh has made a shock appearance in the nets atHeadingley, fuelling speculation he might recover from a torn calfmuscle in time for next week’s Fifth Ashes Test at The Oval.Waugh’s first thought while being stretchered from the field at TrentBridge 11 days ago was his tour was over and he may as well pack up andgo home to his family in Sydney.But the Australian captain decided to undergo 12 laborious hours oftreatment every day from 8.30am in the faint hope he would recover intime for one last appearance on English soil.Waugh is refusing to ask team physiotherapist Errol Alcott the mosttempting question – “will I be able to play?” – because he doesn’t wantthe answer to affect his determined bid to regain fitness.When Waugh thought the nosiest onlookers had left, he snuck into thenets and batted for about 15 minutes without any discomfort as coachJohn Buchanan threw him balls from short range.”Stephen was fine, but he hasn’t got much time left – one week,” said anAustralian Cricket Board spokesman.”Having a light hit is a different matter from playing a Test match.”It would be nothing short of remarkable if 36-year-old Waugh was able tolead Australia onto The Oval for a farewell appearance in England.But Alcott, masseuse Rebecca Lauder and fitness coach Jock Campbell areworking overtime to expedite his recovery from an injury which normallytakes between four and six weeks to mend.Last week, Waugh said: “When I did the injury I gave myself a nought percent chance of being back for The Oval and while I’ve improved sincethen, I still have to give myself only a tiny chance of being right.”Tiny has become just a little bigger.Full days of physiotherapy, massage, pool work, bike work and lightweights give cause for optimism but there is still no guarantee he willavailable.Motivating him is the fact that Australia will be awarded the substituteAshes trophy at the Oval, he might never again play in England, andentering the twilight of his career, every Test is special.He posed for the cover photograph of his upcoming Ashes diary thisafternoon.In Waugh’s absence, interim captain Adam Gilchrist leads Australiaagainst England in the Fourth Test at Headingley tomorrow, starting at11am (8pm AEST).England is yet to trim its 13-man squad because captain Nasser Hussainis completely flummoxed by the pitch.”I’m not sitting on the fence,” said Hussain.”But it could seam, swing, spin or it could be flat.”Australia: Adam Gilchrist (c), Ricky Ponting (vc), Matthew Hayden,Michael Slater, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Simon Katich, Brett Lee,Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer (12th man).England (from): Nasser Hussain (c), Michael Atherton, MarcusTrescothick, Mark Butcher, Mark Ramprakash, Usman Afzaal, Alec Stewart,Alex Tudor, Robert Croft, Andy Caddick, Darren Gough, Alan Mullally,Richard Johnson.