By Dave Buxton
February 21 2003

Essex and England captain Nasser Hussain is fit for the crucial World Cup Group A clash against Pakistan tomorrow in Cape Town, a match which might well decide the fate of both teams for the rest of the tournament.

Nass Fit For Crunch Match

Nass suffered a stiff neck which ruled him out of England's last match vs Namibia, but he came through a net session today at Newlands. And after seeing Stewart's captaincy in that win over Namibia, England need the Essex man and his leadership and tatical skills back as quick as possible.

With Nasser back in the team, his replacement for the Namibia game, Essex team mate Ronnie Irani, could well be the man who stands down for the England captain to return.

However, that would be harsh on Ronnie, who performed admirably against the Africans with 3-30 from 8 overs with the ball, 12 in just 7 balls with the bat at the end of the England innings and was lively in the field, one of only a couple to look lively.

With England's two spinners Ian Blackwell and Ashley Giles both looking doubts, Ronnie might well keep his place and his variation with the ball and his talents so low down the order would be a choice England would do well to utilise.

Whatever team selections, this is a must win game for England. Beat Pakistan and India and we can afford a probable defeat to the Aussies. However, lose either tomorrow's crunch match or the India game and it's surely curtains for Nasser's men.

One thing's for sure, with Nasser back in the team, the lads (Ronnie and Paul Collingwood aside) are sure to show more heart and passion then they did on Wednesday.

Note the match is a floodlight game and is live on Sky Sports 3 at around 12pm. Be sure to book your sofa for an afternoon of high quality tension and entertainment.

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Date: 21/2/03

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