Nick Knight has been recalled to the England squad for the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford as a batting replacement for injured captain Nasser Hussain.

CricInfo27-May-2001Nick Knight has been recalled to the England squad for the second Test againstPakistan at Old Trafford as a batting replacement for injured captain Nasser Hussain.The Warwickshire left-hander has not played for England since breaking hisfinger during last summer’s momentous victory over West Indies at Lord’s, but has begun the season impressively and averages 54.33 in championship cricket.Knight won his recall ahead of other experienced players like John Crawley ofLancashire and Surrey’s Mark Ramprakash, who was expected to end his year-longwait for another opportunity following his controversial switch from Middlesexto the county champions during the winter.Yorkshire left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom, who performed impressively on hisTest debut during the innings victory over Pakistan at Lord’s even though hefinished wicketless, fails to retain his place because of the return to fitnessof Headingley team-mate Matthew Hoggard after a back problem.”In our discussions about a replacement batsman for Nasser, there were anumber of outstanding candidates to choose from in particular younger playerssuch as Owais Shah and Usman Afzaal,” said chairman of selectors DavidGraveney.”In this instance, however, with Ian Ward having only just made his debut, wedecided to go for a more experienced player and we considered Mark Ramprakashand John Crawley as well as Nick Knight.”Our decision to pick Nick was based on the fact that he has been inoutstanding form for Warwickshire this season, has batted in the middle orderfor England before and has also scored a Test hundred against Pakistan.”Injured trio Hussain, Ashley Giles (Achilles tendon) and Craig White (back)will all be at the practice sessions in Manchester, which begin on Tuesdayafternoon, but none will be selected.Glamorgan off-spinner Robert Croft is again in the squad but with Old Trafford in particular suffering a wet start to the summer, he may well be left out when England choose the side later in the week.At this stage, the more likely option is that we will play seven batsmen andthe four best bowlers, but our final decision will depend on an assessment ofthe pitch and local weather conditions,” added Graveney.