Cricket: `We'll be ready for the Ashes' says Graveney

DAVID GRAVENEY, the chairman of selectors, yesterday smoothed over England's worrying start to their Ashes tour and insisted: "We will be ready."

The tourists went into the final day against South Australia struggling to avoid a humiliating defeat after their top-order batsman failed to make the most of their penultimate practice game.

Injury has hindered Alec Stewart's bid to meet the Australians in top form. He completed a demoralising pair yesterday, and neither he nor the opener Mark Butcher have passed the 50 mark on the tour so far.

With England only 11 runs ahead in their second innings, the overnight situation left the tour manager, Graham Gooch, admitting: "We're not in a position we wanted to be in."

However, Graveney, who flies out to Australia next Monday, claimed: "The practice games obviously serve a great purpose but I wouldn't draw too many conclusions from them.

"For instance, Australia have had practice games over here over the last few years which they have lost."

But he conceded: "It will be a concern to the team that some of the batsmen haven't got any runs, there's been the odd injury or the odd bit of misfortune - such as when Athers was run out by a deflection as opposed to an error of judgement. Those sort of things don't help but you just have to keep trying. They have got a lot of hard work to do. Alec not getting any runs in this game is a concern but it hangs on the fact that there are five Tests."

Stewart's back injury and blows to the face for Mark Butcher in Perth have hardly helped England's preparation, but Graveney insists the squad should remain upbeat.

"Injuries do happen. If you look at history, we've normally managed to get out of Perth with someone having a broken hand."

He joked: "We've done quite well this year with Butcher being hit on both eyes and Alec having a bad back."

But Graveney remains confident that the chosen squad can cope with the weight of expectation that comes with playing for England in the Ashes. "Without any doubt. They realise the challenge in front of them against Australia," he said. They are the No 1 ranked team, they are very much on the crest of a wave having won in Pakistan for the first time in 39 years.

"In terms of games, we haven't played any cricket for a month. Practice is one thing but match practice is another. I'm very confident - because I have heard nothing to the contrary - that by the time we get to Brisbane [for the first Test] we will have reached the right level to compete at Test level.

"I'm reasonably happy with the way things are progressing, obviously a few more runs would help but there have been some encouraging aspects in other directions."

The Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne moved another stride closer to making his Test comeback when he was named yesterday as captain of the Victoria Sheffield Shield team.

Warne, who underwent shoulder surgery in May, was selected for the four- day match starting in Perth on Friday after successfully completing a one-day match against New South Wales on Sunday.

Warne returned figures of 1 for 23 from eight overs against NSW and is hoping to return to the Australian team during the Ashes series with England.

The Australian captain, Mark Taylor, said that he was pleased by Warne's progress but said he still doubted whether he would be back by the first Test starting in Brisbane on November 20.

"It's great to see Warney back," Taylor said. "He's bowling all right, too. We've got our fingers crossed he'll be ready sooner rather than later although we don't want to rush him. The first couple of Test matches might be tough."

India bowled Sri Lanka out for 98 to win their third Sharjah Champions' Trophy match by 81 runs in Dubai yesterday. India had been dismissed for 179 but their new-ball pair, Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar, ripped through the early Sri Lankan batting and left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi finished the job.

n India's women are to tour England next summer to play three one-day internationals and one Test.