New injury woe for Harmison

The Durham fast bowler, who had claimed one wicket, had just come on for a fourth spell against a Board President's XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Club when his latest setback occurred. After the third delivery of the over, he walked slowly back to his mark clutching the lower left side of his back.

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Clearly in pain, he spoke briefly to captain Michael Vaughan before trudging off the field alongside physio Kirk Russell. While the England management emphasised last night that this was not a recurrence of the back injury which kept Harmison, 29, out of the summer series against India, it ended his attempt to prove his fitness in this three-day game. Having been treated for the remainder of the day, Harmison will be re-assessed this morning to see if the condition has eased. But at a time when the player and his coaches needed everything to run like clockwork — with evidence of rekindled confidence and form, not to mention good health — this is a potentially critical blow.

Coach Peter Moores said: "It's a new injury — a muscle spasm in his back. He is disappointed but he is hoping it is just a bit of a twinge. The physio doesn't think it's anything major so hopefully it will settle down in the next 24-36 hours and he will be able to bowl in the second innings.

"It will make him concerned and we will be careful with it. It is not exactly what you want, but injuries are injuries and you have to take them on the chin. Steve is disappointed because he felt in good rhythm. He was attacking the crease and bowling with good pace."

The first Test against Sri Lanka starts in Kandy on Saturday and that is surely too soon for Harmison to return to the England team, even if he does recover sufficiently to bowl in the second innings here. His inclusion would represent a significant gamble and the selectors are unlikely to take such a dangerous step, especially when they have more-than-capable alternatives at their disposal.

From then on, the schedule works against the Geordie paceman as the three Tests are all back-to-back, allowing no time for those on the fringes to force their way into contention. Unless one of the other chosen seamers breaks down, Harmison is likely to be held back in readiness for the three-Test series against New Zealand in February.

He is experiencing the undiluted cruelty of sport at present. In his haste to recover from a hernia operation in time for Durham's first appearance in the Friends Provident Trophy Final at Lord's in August, Harmison damaged his back and failed to reappear for the rest of the domestic season.

From that low point, he threw body and soul into getting fit again and spent three weeks in South Africa to prove he was ready for this tour. No sooner had he done so than he was forced to delay his England comeback in last week's warm-up match because baggage handlers lost his kit bag at Dubai airport. Once he had been presented with another opportunity to stake a Test claim, he was just hitting his stride yesterday when his body failed him again.

The upshot is that England's likely Test fast-bowling line-up has been decided by default. Having opted to leave Stuart Broad out of the XI for this match, they will field Matthew Hoggard, Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson, as long as Anderson's own back problems don't flare up again. Although this trio have similar attributes, Moores believes they can provide a sufficiently varied threat to unsettle the Sri Lanka batsmen.

Harmison's injury cast a shadow over an otherwise satisfying day for the tourists. Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan watched proceedings for a while yesterday morning from the other side of the ground's perimeter fence. If he had stuck around, he might have been impressed — concerned even.

Anderson bowled quickly and Hoggard was Hoggard; controlled and effective in taking three wickets as the home side were reduced to 298 for nine on day one. Monty Panesar finally gained some reward for an improving display with three wickets in the evening session.

England were encouragingly sharp in the field, with good catches from Vaughan, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara and Alastair Cook. Bopara also took one wicket and troubled several batsman with his medium pace to further push his claim for a Test place in Kandy.