England hit as Gough fails to make first Test

England's plans for winning the Ashes received a serious setback yesterday when Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher decided to rule Darren Gough out of the first Test against Australia by not selecting the fast bowler for their last warm-up game against Queensland which started today.

With England having a policy of not picking a player who is yet to come through a first-class game successfully, Gough no longer has the opportunity to push his case before Thursday's battle in Brisbane.

The good news for Gough and England, though, is that the selectors' decision is tactical. The 32-year-old, who when fit is undoubtedly England's premier bowler, has not suffered a recurrence of the injury to his right knee which forced him to have three operations last summer and he hopes to be fully fit for the second Test which starts on 21 November.

"This game has come a week too early," said Gough. "I've been off my full run since the WACA [last week] and bowled flat out in the nets for 25 minutes yesterday. I am fit enough to play in this game but the problem is we do not know how I will feel the following morning. Obviously, I want to play and the selectors want me to play but this is the right decision.

"With knee injuries you can have two good days, then one bad one and because there is no guarantee they have decided not to risk denying someone who might play some decent practice. England is more important than getting me on the field."

Despite Hussain and Fletcher's desperation to play the strongest side they can in the first Test, this is the right decision considering the Yorkshireman has not come through a first-class game unscathed for 14 months. Last summer Gough twice attempted to come back from injury too early and a third setback would not only finish his tour but possibly his career.

There is no doubt, though, that the talismanic figure will be missed. Australia has been a good hunting ground for Gough, where he is held in an almost legendary status by the crowd. More importantly, though, he has gained the respect of his opponents for his never-say-die attitude.

Aged 24, the smiling, fresh-faced fast bowler first made an impact for England on their tour Down Under in 1994-95. He scored a fifty and took 6 for 49 in Sydney only to outdo this at the same ground four years later when he became the first Englishman since 1899 to take a hat-trick against Australia.

Gough's rehabilitation will continue, while England play against Queensland, through bowling in the nets and there is even talk of him playing in a game of grade cricket on the Saturday of the Test match.

"The management are trying to organise me a game in Brisbane next weekend," he said. "After that I will be looking to play my first game of the tour in Hobart. Most people had me out until the third Test so to play in four would be a bonus."

Gough's exclusion gives the Glamorgan fast bowler, Simon Jones, who took 5 for 78 in Perth, a great chance to cement a place in the side.

If he plays in the first Test he will have to contend with the Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, who, according to their wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, has developed a new ball.

In what sounds like another attempt by the Australians to earn a psychological advantage over England, Gilchrist said: "It looks a lot like a leg-spinner when it comes out [the hand] but about 90 per cent go straight with the occasional one turning a little bit. It's a small spinning, quicker, straighter leg-break, which gives him a bit more margin for error. The only surprise is it does not stop and stick its tongue out halfway down."