Gough's England ambitions put on ice

Darren Gough's hopes of returning to the England team this summer received a setback when he left the field after bowling just 19 balls against Essex at Headingley yesterday.

The first diagnosis was a slight hamstring strain in his left leg. He pulled up in his delivery stride, bent to roll the ball towards the slips, smiled, took his cap and walked off.

Gough has played non-stop for Yorkshire this season after having three operations on his right knee. Last weekend he expressed hopes of being recalled to England's one-day squad. He spent most of yesterday with his left leg packed in ice.

Essex had their own mystery, the omission of the England Test captain, Nasser Hussain. After confirming that Hussain was not injured, nor prevented from playing by England, the Essex coach, Graham Gooch, commented: "We are playing other players.''

Gooch's confidence was not misplaced as the Essex reserves strolled to an overwhelming victory, dismissing Yorkshire for 54, two runs below their previous National League lowest, 56 against Warwickshire at Birmingham in 1995.

Yorkshire had bowled first, thinking that the pitch, mostly under cover all week, would sweat and seam but they bowled poorly. Their batting in contrast was calamitous, irresponsible swinging at length-and-line medium-paced bowling. The pitch was not to blame.

Meanwhile, the Indian World Cup batsman Yuvraj Singh said yesterday that he has signed a contract to play for Yorkshire. The 21-year-old left-hander said that he had finalised negotiations last night, adding that he will leave for England in about eight days' time and will be available for the remainder of the season.