England seamer Liam Plunkett airlifted from Caribbean

Emergency draft: Liam Plunkett has joined up with the England squad in AustraliaPhoto: ACTION IMAGES
By Simon Briggs6:56PM GMT 31 Jan 2011

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Plunkett, who has always been a loyal servant for England, will thus fly two-thirds of the way across the globe to meet up with the main squad in Perth, only three days before the final match of this tour on Sunday.
No doubt he will be glad to know that he still features in the pecking order. But you would have to feel for him if, as expected, he ends up carrying the drinks as 12th man at the WACA.
Ajmal Shahzad was the latest seamer to pull up, feeling a hamstring twinge on Sunday night that will be assessed by a scan in Sydney on Tuesday.
With Tim Bresnan already back home nursing his calf, and Chris Tremlett carrying a side strain, this leaves Andrew Strauss with only three fit seamers at his disposal.
Such agonies are the lot of the fast bowler, the infantryman in crickets army. These are the poor saps whose arthritic knees often require replacements by the time they are 45.


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