Bresnan fears for Ashes

There is some concern that bowler Tim Bresnan could miss England's battles to retain the Ashes in Australia this winter.

It has been confirmed the Yorkshire star will not play in the second and final Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford – and Ryan Sidebottom has replaced him in the squad for that match.

Bresnan suffered a stress fracture in his foot during the first match of the series at Lord's, and his performance in the match was also criticised by England coach Andy Flower.

After the clash the coach claimed that Bresnan had picked up some bad habits playing the shorter forms of the game, and some of them "were not great" for Test match cricket, something which showed against Bangladesh.

However, Flower also had some words of encouragement for the Yorkshireman.

The coach said: "It is a real pity he has picked up this injury as I was looking forward to seeing him in Manchester and how quickly he could adapt back into being a Test bowler."

Meanwhile, England cricket legend Ian Botham has predicted that Steve Finn will be a key figure for Flower's side in Australia this winter. The Ashes cricket odds suggest England will struggle to retain the urn, but Botham thinks the Middlesex man can do a job.

He told the Mirror that he believes Finn has emerged as a Test match cricketer at "just the right time" but it could be interesting to see if Flower will pick both Finn and Stuart Broad in the Ashes matches.

Meanwhile, England remain third favourites in the World Cup 2010 betting, ahead of the big kick off.

The squad have now arrived in South Africa and are preparing to face USA in just over a week's time.