Alex Tudor is hopeful of being able to convince England's selectors that he is fit enough to be considered for next week's 2nd npower Test against India at Trent Bridge.

The Surrey seamer was ruled out of the emphatic 170-runs opening Test victory at Lord's with shin splints sustained during the NatWest Series final defeat by India a fortnight earlier.

He made his return for Surrey this week with a seven-over spell against Essex at Guildford in the Norwich Union League and is hopeful of making the starting line-up for the washed-out Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy semi-final against Yorkshire at Headingley.

But whether that is enough to persuade England he is fit enough to withstand a Test, particularly as both Simon Jones (side strain) and Andrew Flintoff (groin), is open to question.

Captain Nasser Hussain has insisted that before England look at recalling any player from injury they must first prove their fitness in a first-class match - and Surrey's next championship outing starts on the same day as the Test on August 8 against Sussex at Hove.

That just makes Tudor's latest injury setback all the more frustrating, coming just a month after he seemed finally to have established himself in the England line-up with a man-of-the-match performance against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

``I was very frustrated to miss out on the Test match,'' revealed Tudor. ``I wanted to use this Test towards establishing myself in the England team.

``I was lucky enough to get the man-of-the-match award in the previous Test at Old Trafford and got drafted into the one-day squad and I wanted to be part of the 1st Test against India at Lord's.

``It was disappointing I wasn't able to do that, but hopefully the injury has cleared up now and if things go well maybe I'll get in for the next Test.''

Between now and the selectors' expected announcement of the Test squad on Sunday, Tudor has the chance to impress against a strong Yorkshire line-up strengthened by England pair Michael Vaughan and Craig White providing the weather halts in Leeds.

Wednesday's scheduled match was called off shortly after 10am with umpires Barry Dudleston and John Hampshire ruling that the outfield was saturated from the overnight rain.

There are two reserve days available to complete the semi-final, during which time they can shorten the match to a minimum of 10 overs a side, before deciding the outcome with a `bowl-out' if no play has been possible previously.

31 Jul, 2002