Collingwood hit by stomach bug

England captain Paul Collingwood had to miss the final training session for Thurday's one-day match against india at Old Trafford because of illness.

Collingwood suffered stomach cramps during the night, but team management are hopeful he will recover in time to play in the day-night match.

If he fails to do so, Andrew Flintoff or Kevin Pietersen could deputise.

But Flintoff must first pass a fitness test after missing Monday's win at Edgbaston with a sore knee.

The Lancashire all-rounder would be the most experienced candidate, having skippered England in 11 Tests and 14 one-dayers in the past.

But he was stripped of the vice-captaincy for disciplinary reasons during the World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year and it may be that Pietersen would be asked to take on the role, if Collingwood is ruled out.

He has been part of the decision-making process this summer and said recently: "I just try to help out as much as I can.

"Colly likes the help - with him being involved so much in the game, he talks to me a lot and asks for my opinions.

"Basically we just get together and sort a few things out like bowling changes and fielding positions. We read off a similar script, so it's nice."

England, meanwhile, are also monitoring the fitness of Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, who missed Monday's match after suffering a hand injury during the pre-match warm-up session.

Source: BBC Sport