Unless further injury strikes nobody else is really playing for their place

Unless further injury strikes, nobody else is really playing for their place.In fact, with the next two Tests back to back, Graham Thorpe - along with the entire pace attack of Darren Gough, Andy Caddick and Craig White - are rested, which leaves England with just two quick bowlers in Alex Tudor and Matthew Hoggard.Although Vaughan denies that Hick is his main rival, saying that he simply wants to score runs to put the selectors under a bit of pressure, he realises that the final choice will probably not be made on batting ability alone. Both he and Hick bowl off-spin and it is that, particularly if England decide to play just one specialist spinner in Faisalabad, that could be as important as any runs he scores. "My bowling is something I try to work on, but with the injury I haven't been able to do that and I hope to put that right over the next few days," he said. "If it helps England in the Test series that would be great, but I've a lot to do to consider myself a front-line bowler."Over the next few days, runs will be both a priority for Vaughan and the lure with which he hopes to catch the selectorial eye.

A pragmatist, he is not fussed how he scores them - just how many.ENGLAND (from): N Hussain(capt), M A Atherton, M E Trescothick, A J Stewart, G A Hick, M P Vaughan, A Flintoff, P A Nixon (wkt), A F Giles, I D K Salisbury, A J Tudor, M J Hoggard.. Sven Goran Eriksson, the Lazio coach who takes charge of England in June, has reacted strongly to criticism of his tactics in the first signs of tension between the coach and his club. Sven Goran Eriksson, the Lazio coach who takes charge of England in June, has reacted strongly to criticism of his tactics in the first signs of tension between the coach and his club. Eriksson's comments have been widely interpreted as a response to the club's general director, Massimo Cragnotti, the son of the club president, Sergio Cragnotti, who had criticised the coach's decision to play just one striker in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Milan."It is not very intelligent to talk outside of the dressing-room about problems that need to stay inside, but unfortunately it happens," Eriksson said."I am not worried because our results do not look so bad Maybe, however, someone is nervous. In general in football there is a search for a culprit to condemn when you lose, but at Lazio, however, it seems that same process happens when we draw," added Eriksson.It has been suggested that Massimo Cragnotti vetoed Eriksson's presence at England's friendly match with Spain in Birmingham on 28 February, although he has denied this, saying, however, that the coach'sinvolvement in that game was "out of the question".Italy and Germany continue their rivalry in the Uefa Cup third round today with Roma and Parma taking on Hamburg and TSV 1860 Munich.The battle between the two countries, who have supplied nine of the last 11 winners of the trophy, started yesterday, when Internazionale earned a 0-0 draw at Hertha Berlin.Roma's morale received a timely boost before their home tie against Hamburg with Fabio Capello's side opening up a two-point lead in Serie A last weekend. The Argentinian striker Gabriel Batistuta scored twice in a convincing 4-1 win at Verona and home advantage today should only add to Hamburg's problems.

Beaten 3-1 by Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday after two bad errors by their goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt, Hamburg are set to lose their midfielder Niko Kovac because of a thigh muscle injury.Parma, who won the Uefa Cup in 1999, were defeated 2-1 at Bologna in their last match before today's home game with TSV 1860. Munich could only draw with the strugglers VfB Stuttgart at the weekend. They planned to travel to Parma on Tuesday, but only left yesterday because their training pitch in Italy was flooded.Of the other German clubs, Stuttgart may drop their Bulgarian playmaker Krassimir Balakov for their tie at Feyenoord after he insulted the club's coach, Ralf Rangnick, when he was substituted against TSV.Leverkusen will be hosting AEK Athens as the German league leaders under their new coach, Berti Vogts. The midfielder Michael Ballack is nursing a torn calf muscle and is a doubtful starter.Barcelona lead the charge for five Spanish sides in their trip to Club Bruges, who have won their first 13 domestic league games, equalling Anderlecht's 36-year-old record. Bruges' Norwegian coach, Trond Sollied, said: "Barcelona are world class in every department, but at the moment they're a bit of a Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde side.

There must be reasons why they didn't get through to the second stage of the Champions' League."Bruges' goalkeeper Dany Verlinden is injured and will be replaced by the 23-year-old Slovenian Dejan Nemec. An away win would be priceless for the Barcelona coach, Llorenc Serra Ferrer, whose side have slipped to ninth in the Spanish Liga as well as being eliminated from the Champions' League.Serra Ferrer may opt for a four-man defence to tame Bruges' attacking power. With Luis Enrique suspended, the midfielders Marc Overmars and Gerard may play alongside the young playmaker Xavi. The World and European Player of the Year, Rivaldo, will be joined by either Patrick Kluivert, Dani or Alfonso in attack.Bordeaux, who went top in France after trouncing Stade Rennes 3-0, will rest their injured strikers Pedro Pauleta and Pascal Feindouno when they host the Germans of Werder Bremen. Their captain, Christophe Dugarry, is doubtful, but the striker Lilian Laslandes, whose double against Celtic qualified his side for the third round, returns to the side. Bremen will be without the suspended Brazilian Ailton.Nantes know they have to improve against Lausanne after struggling to beat humble MTK Budapest.. After a sure-footed start in a frozen Moscow last night and a goal by Silvinho within 80 seconds, Arsenal went slip-sliding away to their heaviest away defeat in almost 16 years of European football.

Playing in the second phase of the Champions' League for the first time, they were taken apart as the game wore on by a Spartak performance reminiscent of the previous meetings of the teams, 18 years ago, when Arsenal were thrashed 5-2 on their own pitch. After a sure-footed start in a frozen Moscow last night and a goal by Silvinho within 80 seconds, Arsenal went slip-sliding away to their heaviest away defeat in almost 16 years of European football. Playing in the second phase of the Champions' League for the first time, they were taken apart as the game wore on by a Spartak performance reminiscent of the previous meetings of the teams, 18 years ago, when Arsenal were thrashed 5-2 on their own pitch. As well as Silvinho, there were two other Brazilians on the score-sheet, in conditions never seen in Rio. Antonio Marcão scored twice to overturn his countryman's goal and then Luis Robson kept the noisy home crowd in a state of rapture with a fourth near the end. Sadly, that goal and the third, by the playmaker Igor Titov, involved mistakes by Tony Adams.Along with his fellow Essex boy, Ray Parlour, Arsenal's captain was the only player disdaining gloves, despite snow having fallen through much of the day as the temperature fell to 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, which even the locals found to be on the chilly side of comfortable. The Italian referee, Pierluigi Collina, required a formal pitch inspection before declaring that the game could go ahead and the surface, initially soft, gradually grew more treacherous. But it was a combination of vivid attacking play and poor defending, rather than the conditions, which undermined Arsÿne Wenger's side."Defensively as a team we did not look as solid as we're used to," the Arsenal manager said "I feel we conceded stupid goals.