Zak injury updates

[Guest Gunner]

ZAK declared fit to bowl in the second innings. :woot:

[Crookbond]

Cricinfo saying he may be available to bowl in 2nd innings' date=' so hopefully its nothing too serious[/quote'] The press statement is ambivalent. I would personally read between the lines and say : risky to bowl in the second innings and doubtful starter for the second test.

[cowboysfan]

there is no need to risk him in the 2nd innings(i dont think they will\ bat again anyway)

[Crookbond]

there is no need to risk him in the 2nd innings(i dont think they will bat again anyway)

Yes, they will forfeit the match. :--D

[Crookbond]

Zaheer's problem of middle and leg http://es.pn/ruoEyE

The moment Zaheer Khan stopped dead on his follow-through and bent down to feel his right hamstring, an eloquent pause hung in the media room. It wasn't asked, but everyone understood the question: was this going to turn out to be defining moment of the match, or of the series, so adroitly built up as the unofficial Test championship decider? Despite never looking at his sharpest, Zaheer had been the soul of Indian bowling on an absorbing first day during which neither wickets nor runs came easy. With Praveen Kumar swinging it too much to secure an edge, and Ishant Sharma not finding the length that English conditions warrant, Zaheer had to carry the day, but he did so by working his way through like a chess master. The English openers were drawn in to their dismissal. It is no secret that he enjoys bowling to left-hand batsmen and while much of the pre-series talk had focused on his contest with Andrew Strauss, who has been seen as fallible to left-arm swing bowling, it was Alastair Cook he snared first, off one that held its course after several that moved either way. Strauss was then baited by a sucker short ball wide of off stump, which he top-edged to fine leg. That these dismissals were replicas from 2007 - Cook at Trent Bridge, Strauss at The Oval - pointed to a design from a seasoned craftsman. Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen then built a partnership, but Zaheer returned with the aging ball, and wobbled it enough to draw an ugly flail from Pietersen and a genuine edge from Trott, before hobbling off. Injuries are an inescapable reality that cricketers, and their teams, must live with; and fast bowlers, whose day job comprises the most unnatural contortions of the human body, are particularly susceptible. The cold weather is unkind too to the hamstring and it comes under further stress when a left-arm quick bowler switches to round the wicket, as Zaheer often does. So, if the worst fears about Zaheer come to pass, it is perhaps down to wretched luck. There is, however, a pattern to Zaheer's mid-match breakdowns that is impossible to ignore. In 2003, he raised Indian hopes with an inspired spell in Brisbane before sitting out the Adelaide Test and bailing out in the middle of the Melboune Test, leaving India with three frontline bowlers. A couple of months later, during India's tour of Pakistan, he once again limped off the field during the Multan Test that Indian went on to win. He returned home when it became obvious that the muscle that he had pulled wasn't going to heal in time for the final Test. In 2007-08, a heel injury restricted his tour of Australia to only one Test. Last year, he withdrew from the Test tour of Sri Lanka, and missed the opening Test in South Africa. This leaves only two away series of significance - South Africa in 2006-07, and England in 2007 - that he has been able to complete in recent years. That the career of a bowler who has grown so skillful should be defined by injuries is depressing. Zaheer knows his body better than anyone else and he has perhaps reconciled himself to the limitations it imposes on him. Some fast bowlers are blighted by chronic injuries. Shane Bond's body never allowed him to make full use of the gift he had been granted: the ability to bowl fast with a clean action. Ian Bishop looked a worthy heir to Michael Holding before a stress fracture of the back terminated his career. And Munaf Patel has embraced the life of a trundler after beginning with thunderbolts. But even from the height of the media box at Lord's it was impossible not to notice the girth around Zaheer's waist. He hadn't played a Test since January and had had no competitive cricket in six weeks. It was apparent that he was feeling his way back in the practice match against Somerset, but that he chose to rest in the second innings perhaps told a story. That he managed to rouse himself for a contest at Lord's was proof of the mastery he has acquired over his craft. But Michael Holding, who was on air when Zaheer aborted his over, remarked straightaway he wasn't surprised because Zaheer hadn't looked match fit. While India remain optimistic about his chances of bowling in the second innings, the fate of this Test now rests on how well the rest of the bowling attack copes with absence of their leader in this innings.

[DeepFineLeg]

Zak is at the grounds. He's exercising on the bike at the Lord's gym. Let's hope for the best.....

[Alchemist]

Zak is at the grounds. He's exercising on the bike at the Lord's gym. Let's hope for the best.....

He migt get tired exercising. He probably has not done that in years. :cantstop:

[Sidhoni]

Exercising and running.Good signs :aha: :aha:

[gs]

He migt get tired exercising. He probably has not done that in years. :cantstop:

True -- should have been doing that over the last month or so instead of pigging on biryani and kabab!!

[Karan114]

True -- should have been doing that over the last month or so instead of pigging on biryani and kabab!!

:giggle:

[Sachinism]

Doubts persist over Zaheer's fitness Zaheer Khan is likely to sit out the remainder of Lord's Test and could even be a doubtful starter for second Test starting at Trent Bridge on July 29. Though the Indian team management sent out a brief indicating that Zaheer could still play a part during the second innings of the Lord's Test, it is understood that the bowler has expressed reservations in private with the team's think tank. On Friday Zaheer remained positive after an hour-long strengthening session late afternoon on Friday. "I am feeling better. Let's see how it goes," Zaheer said as he walked back to the dressing room from the Nursery grounds, a fair distance, without any visible cramping. However, according to a team source, Zaheer does not want to risk and exacerbate the hamstring strain as it could be dodgy and force him to miss out on the entire series. Zaheer pulled out of the play midway into his second over of the third spell on the overcast Thursday afternoon, limping back to the dressing room holding his right hamstring. Till then Zaheer had dominated the England batsmen for the better part of the rain-affected first day, accounting for the English opening pair of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook. Immediately Zaheer rushed to a nearby hospital to undergo an MRI scan and though no big damage was detected the bowler felt it was only better to play safe rather than rush back to the field. "It is a slight strain at the moment but if he played any further there is a real fear of it becoming a tear," the source said.

[King Tendulkar]

He should not bowl again this test. Simply cant take the risk

[Rajiv]

Zaheer had chocolate ice cream with banana split

[cowboysfan]

He should not bowl again this test. Simply cant take the risk

i am pretty sure he is going to miss the next test too,even minor hamstring injuries are no joke.

[pensionplan]

ZAK declared fit to bowl in the second innings. :woot:

Yes he screwed us in the first innings with his first leg breaking down so let us wait for the second innings to see if the second leg holds up.

[Karan114]

Third Test at Birmingham is around 2.5-3 weeks away, so hopefully he can get fit for that

[pensionplan]

i am pretty sure he is going to miss the next test too' date='even minor hamstring injuries are no joke.[/quote']How about the selectors making the decision for him by naming a replacement?

[DeepFineLeg]

Zaheer Khan is likely to sit out the remainder of Lord's Test and could even be a doubtful starter for second Test starting at Trent Bridge on July 29. Though the Indian team management sent out a brief indicating that Zaheer could still play a part during the second innings of the Lord's Test, it is understood that the bowler has expressed reservations in private with the team's think tank. On Friday Zaheer remained positive after an hour-long strengthening session late afternoon on Friday. "I am feeling better. Let's see how it goes," Zaheer said as he walked back to the dressing room from the Nursery grounds, a fair distance, without any visible cramping. However, according to a team source, Zaheer does not want to risk and exacerbate the hamstring strain as it could be dodgy and force him to miss out on the entire series. Zaheer pulled out of the play midway into his second over of the third spell on the overcast Thursday afternoon, limping back to the dressing room holding his right hamstring. Till then Zaheer had dominated the England batsmen for the better part of the rain-affected first day, accounting for the English opening pair of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook. Immediately Zaheer rushed to a nearby hospital to undergo an MRI scan and though no big damage was detected the bowler felt it was only better to play safe rather than rush back to the field. "It is a slight strain at the moment but if he played any further there is a real fear of it becoming a tear," the source said.

Michael Holding & Sunny after day's close said as much. Not worth it risking Zak again in this test, or the next one. Hopefully, he would have recovered in time for tests 3 and 4. Viru should also be back by then.

[anotherhawkeye]

Is he going to bowl tomorrow? It will be nice if he could bowl couple of overs here and there perhaps using a shorter run up and then take rest in the next test.

[asterix]

Zak can effing go to hell.. No point in depending on an unfit bowler in an important series..