Thorpe handed one-week Ashes deadline

England absentee Graham Thorpe was given a week's deadline on Wednesday to decide whether to put his name forward to play in the Ashes series.

Skipper Nasser Hussain told a news conference at Headingley on the eve of the third test against India: "It will be up to Graham in the next week to get a phone call in to the England selectors to tell us that he's available."

The 33-year-old left-hander, regarded as the side's leading batsman, has taken a break from cricket after the collapse of his marriage.

His mind clearly elsewhere, he withdrew from the England team after the first test against India to negotiate custody of his children and has since opted not to play for his county side Surrey until the end of the English season.

That has led to speculation that he will not have played enough cricket to warrant inclusion in the Ashes party.

Hussain said even if Thorpe made himself available he could not be guaranteed a place for the trip to Australia at the end of the year.

"Australia will view it as a weaker England side with Graham Thorpe not there -- he is one of our best players -- but we can't keep having the Graham Thorpe issue cropping up," Hussain added. "It will be a very difficult decision."

England's selectors are already discussing a possible Ashes squad. The announcement of the final list of names is likely to be delayed until after the fourth and final test against India at The Oval early next month.

Thorpe's England recent career has been blighted by personal pressures and a back injury. But he continues to score around 45 an innings, a world-class performance and the best in the side.

He scored what was then the second-fastest double century in test history five months ago in New Zealand and scored a century against Sri Lanka at the start of the English summer.

Australia skipper Steve Waugh, who arrived in England earlier in the week to play for county side Kent, said Thorpe had taken a courageous decision to take a break from the sport but added: "I hope he will be back."

Mail Cricket Editor