October 9, 2006

Michael Kasprowicz faces an uncertain entry into the Australian season as a lingering back injury threatens to derail his hopes of another international recall. Kasprowicz and Stuart Clark are both in intense rehabilitation, but while Clark is confident his thigh will be right for the start of the Ashes series, Kasprowicz is still waiting to learn the expected length of his recovery.

The disc problem - it forced him home from the South Africa tour in March and flared up another time during the off-season - prevents him from running and even causes pain when he picks up his young daughter. Before the latest reoccurrence Kasprowicz was jostling with Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Gillespie and Shaun Tait for a prominent Ashes role, but he will miss Queensland's two domestic matches against Tasmania this week in a serious setback.

"It's proving a little bit hard to handle at the moment as far as pain," Kasprowicz said at the Queensland season launch in Brisbane. "We don't know the timing at this stage, the doctors are still investigating what it is and the way to fix it."

Jimmy Maher, the Queensland captain, said the injury was a "big concern" for the Bulls and also for Kasprowicz's Test ambitions. "The worst part is the unknown," Maher said. "I've asked him six times in the last ten days and we don't know how long it will be. It would be an horrific blow if we lose him for any amount of time."

Queensland have another two Pura Cup matches before the first Test against England on November 23, but Kasprowicz is unlikely to risk coming back too quickly, although he is considering an injection into the disc to help the healing. "The return will be judged by pain and we'll see what the doctors say," he said. "I don't think just because my back felt good that the selectors would rush me back into the Queensland side. There'd have to be a process and some evidence that I could last a four-day game."

The back problem was not Kasprowicz's only concern today as reports emerged of a terror plot to gas Australia's dressing-room at Edgbaston last year. Kasprowicz was a late call-up for the second Test in England and was the last-man out as Australia lost the gripping game by two runs.

Instead of targeting the cricketers, four members of Al-Qaeda set off bombs in central London on July 7. The Australia team stayed in England on the advice of their security experts and Kasprowicz said he trusted the decision of Cricket Australia. He also said the team knew nothing of the gas threat during the Test. "When I saw the paper today I was sort of shocked by it," he said, "but after speaking to Cricket Australia I have the full confidence they wouldn't put us in a compromising situation."

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