Tremlett fitness hopes recede

England seem to have been spared a delicate selection problem for the third Test tomorrow.

They were faced with a choice between Chris Tremlett, the impressive fast bowler who missed the win in Nottingham with a hamstring niggle which was followed by a back spasm, and Tim Bresnan, who replaced him and took seven wickets and scored 111 runs.

But Tremlett was forced to miss the squad's training session yesterday with a recurrence of the back trouble. It is unthinkable that England would risk him in a five-day match. The Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel trained with the squad yesterday, prompting the thought that England were thinking of playing two slow bowlers on an Edgbaston pitch likely to turn. But Patel left for home immediately afterwards and his left-arm spin will not feature. Not yet, that is.