Injuries upset England and Kiwi plans

GROS ISLET, St Lucia, Mar 15 (Reuters) New Zealand and England both suffered late injury setbacks before today's key World Cup Group C clash.

Dangerous mid-order batsman Craig McMillan was struck by a yorker from fast bowler Shane Bond in the nets on Wednesday and suffered severe bruising on his right foot big toe.

He is now rated doubtful to play today.

Not to be outdone, England also suffered a blow when their quick bowler James Anderson injured the little finger of his right bowling hand in their practice session on Wednesday.

New Zealand were already certain to be without paceman Mark Gillespie who missed last week's warm-up games because of a numb bowling arm caused by a rare reaction to a throat virus.

Anderson's injury may be a blessing in disguise for England, who were pondering which of Anderson, Sajid Mahmood, Jon Lewis or Liam Plunkett should take the two seam bowling spots in Friday's line-up.

WARM-UP DEFEAT The knock to Anderson could help England half make up their mind, with Lewis and Plunkett the most likely to get the nod despite none of them impressing in the warm-up defeat to Australia on Friday.

New Zealand had been faced with a similar scenario with Peter Fulton, Scott Styris and McMillan fighting over two middle order slots.

Fulton broke his finger in Friday's warm-up win over Sri Lanka so may well have been sacrificed but McMillan's injury could well leave New Zealand in a sticky situation.

Fitness should not be an issue though for the two sides' injury-prone inspirations, Michael Vaughan and Bond, the man, ironically, who delivered the potential knockout blow to McMillan.

England captain Vaughan has declared himself fully fit despite only fielding for 10 and 17 overs in the warm-ups as he battles back from knee and hamstring injuries.

''We're going to try and put New Zealand under pressure on Friday, get that first game out of the way and hopefully get a victory,'' he told reporters.

CARRIED OVER England arrived in the Caribbean on the back of an extraordinary victory in a tri-series against Australia and New Zealand when they won four games in a row having looked to be heading out of the competition.

''We know it's a big tournament but we're just going to try and play the cricket we played towards the end in Australia,'' he added.

New Zealand fast bowler Bond, who has come back from a series of career-threatening injuries, is aware of the importance of the match.

If both sides beat Kenya and Canada in Group C they will qualify for the Super Eights with the points gained in Friday's dual being carried over.

''It is a one-off game we probably have to win,'' Bond said.

''It gives you momentum going into the next round, it takes the pressure off when playing the minnows.'' Bond has joined a chorus of opinion which says pacemen might not be as effective as slow bowlers on the dull Caribbean wickets.

England have been so alarmed by the pitches that their seam bowlers have been hastily practising offcutters and other slower balls.

Probable teams New Zealand: Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel, James Franklin or Daryl Tuffey England: Michael Vaughan, Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Jamie Dalrymple, Paul Nixon, Liam Plunkett, Jon Lewis, Monty Panesar REUTERS SAM RN1425