CRICKET: England A left short of options

England A have only 13 players available for their second one- day international against Pakistan in Faisalabad today following Jason Gallian's call-up to the senior squad in South Africa.

Having batted better than they fielded in the first 40-over match, England have decided to include an extra bowler, Ed Giddins, in Gallian's place.

That means Dominic Ostler is promoted to open the innings alongside his Warwickshire colleague Nick Knight, with the other players moving up a place.

The Yorkshire left-arm spinner Richard Stemp will play instead of the off-spinner Shaun Udal, who has made little headway on Pakistan wickets or with local umpires.

As England head for the Iqbal Stadium, scene of Mike Gatting's famous confrontation with umpire Shakoor Rana in 1987, Lancashire's Gallian will be en route for Dubai, where he will spend the night before flying to Johannesburg on Tuesday.

He is clearly relishing the challenge of the senior call, commenting: "I was expecting to spend a cold Christmas in Suffolk. But now it'll be a hot one in Cape Town. It's hard luck on John Crawley but I'm really looking forward to the opportunity."

England A (v Pakistan A, Faisalabad, today): N V Knight, D P Ostler, *N Hussain, J C Pooley, R C Irani, C White, K J Piper, D W Headley, R D Stemp, E S H Giddins, T Munton.