Harmo to miss warm-up

Steve Harmison will miss England’s warm-up match, for the NatWest Series, against Hampshire on Saturday, because of an ankle injury.

Harmison complained of a niggling pain in his left ankle during the second Test match against Bangladesh, following which he was given a cortisone injection to ease the discomfort.

However, Harmison seems to have failed to recover completely from the injury, as a result of which he has been ruled out of the Hants game. He said, “It just gradually got worse as the Test match went on. I took a bit of gas off it in the second innings because I couldn’t land properly.

“The scan showed a bit of bruising of the bone and a bit of swelling but nothing more serious than that. So the specialist I saw suggested because I had a five-day break that a cortisone jab might be the best option – if I had been playing the next day I would not have had one.”

His participation in the Twenty20 international against Australia on Monday is also in doubt, as the team management would like to have him fit by the time for the start of the NatWest Series, and thus avoid further aggravation of the injury by playing him before then.

Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan too had a small mishap, while training, when he twisted his right knee. He, however, has said that he is fully fit, and in no danger of missing out on any action.

The NatWest series gets under way on Thursday, when the home side takes on Bangladesh.