England chairman of selectors David Graveney on Tuesday gave a detailed report on the fitness status of the team ahead of the forthcoming Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

Graveney said left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom has recovered well enough from his back injury. “Sidebottom has bowled at the national cricket centre. Pleasingly, he’s had no reaction. We wanted him to play in the weekend but that couldn’t happen because of the weather. He is available for selection and ready to go to South Africa for Twenty20,” he said.

He said pace bowler Chris Tremlett has been ruled out of Wednesday’s sixth one-day game. “Chris Tremlett has had an injection in his ankle which was inflamed yesterday. Because of the proximity of the injection he's ruled out of tomorrow’s match. We'll assess if he's fit enough for Saturday and Twenty20.”

On Ravi Bopara, who picked up a thumb injury in the last match, he said, “Bopara is now out of the remaining two games and the Twenty20 World Cup. He will take four to six weeks and that gives him possibilities to take part in the one-day series against Sri Lanka. He has a small crack on his right thumb that damaged the ligaments.”

Fast bowler Steve Harmison’s fitness has been of much concern in recent months. Throwing light on his status, Graveney said, “We’ve had some discussions in that regard. But you have to take into account the nature of injuries and how much a player will take part over the next 12 months.”

He said a final decision about the team for the Twenty20 World Cup will be taken by the weekend. “It may not be like-to-like replacement, but we need to know how many we’re replacing. There are those in this group but it’s a difficult logistical thing. A final decision will have to be made by the weekend as the team leaves for SA on Sunday.”