Hoggard injury scare for England

Matthew Hoggard: six stitches in bowling hand © Getty Images

England's injury worries ahead of next week's first Test against Pakistan have just got worse, after Matthew Hoggard was taken to hospital for six stitches in his bowling hand after being injured before play on the third day of England A's warm-up match at Canterbury.

Hoggard, who has been ever-present in England's Test team for 32 Tests, dating back to the tour to West Indies in March 2004, suffered the injury after being trodden on by his Yorkshire team-mate, Tim Bresnan, during a knockabout game of rugby. He returned to the ground within the first hour of play, but England's selector, Geoff Miller, admitted he was unlikely to bowl in the match.

The cuts were inflicted on the palm of Hoggard's hand below the thumb. It is not yet known whether they are serious enough to rule him out of the first Test next Thursday, but with England already missing Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones and James Anderson through injury, the last thing they need is to lose their most senior and reliable fast bowler, who recently became the tenth Englishman to pass 200 Test wickets.

"These things tend to happen in a cluster. It never rains - it pours," Hoggard told reporters at Canterbury. "When you have one injury you seem to get more, and we are just in a very bad trot of luck."

Hoggard would not have been playing in this match had it not been for a request from his injured captain, Michael Vaughan. "It is important to play games before you go into a Test," said Hoggard, who was not selected for the one-day series and so has been short of match practice in recent weeks. "Unfortunately there were no other four-dayers for me in between, so the logical choice was to play here."

Hoggard nevertheless remained optimistic that he would be fit in time for the Test. "It's my bowling hand, but it's just a skin wound," he told Sky Sports. "The hand feels a bit numb but the cuts are superficial. We'll just have to see how well the stitches hold up. It's a case of seeing how fast the skin heals, and I hope it will heal quickly. If it's just going to be a bit of pain I'm confident I can get through that."

If he fails to recover in time, England may turn back to the services of Gloucestershire's seamer, Jon Lewis, who made his debut in the third Test against Sri Lanka last month, but did not come into consideration for the one-day series. The spinner, Jamie Dalrymple, who has impressed in his brief dalliance in international cricket, may also be named in a 14-man squad.

While Hoggard was being treated, Chris Read and Stuart Broad made merry in the morning sun, adding an unbeaten 127-run stand for the tenth wicket. Read swept Danish Kaneria for six to reach 150 not out, while Broad registered his maiden first-class fifty. England declared on 595 for 9, and by lunch the Pakistanis were 66 for 1 in reply, with Bresnan taking the only wicket to fall, that of Imran Farhat for 16.