Thorpe said after treatment that he had not yet ruled out playing today, but for all Hussain's improvement as a one-day player, England would miss him. With Nick Knight he is the only batsman in the side averaging more than 40 in these games and, coincidentally or not, England declined abruptly when he had to go home from the West Indies after sharing in the victory in the first of the one-day internationals.
Home cooking seemed to cure the problem, so a scan was delayed. He will have one next week, whether or not he plays at the Oval and in the following two matches at Old Trafford and Headingley this weekend. The odds are that Hussain will play instead and it would be no surprise if he took the chance to make a point to the selectors.
With a party of 14 England had no need to call on Hussain and they have done so only because it is felt that team balance requires an experienced man at four, probably at the expense of Ali Brown, who would be very disappointed to be left out on his own ground. The expectation is that Chris Adams and Darren Maddy will make their first appearances for England today, at three and five, with Knight and Alec Stewart continuing as the opening pair.
It seems a long year since England outplayed an underprepared Australia in these games last season and Mike Atherton scored 113 not out at the Oval. England played Robert Croft and Ashley Giles (his only international so far) on that occasion, although, as Giles remarked yesterday, the wide open spaces of the Oval outfield are only a qualified advantage for a spinner: twos and threes abound here, as well as skied catches.
If both the spinners play, a choice will have to be made between Angus Fraser and Chris Lewis and between Mark Ealham and Matthew Fleming. What should be a bouncy pitch today probably means an immediate return for Lewis, but Fraser should be the first pick and the option ought to be between Lewis and Darren Gough.
The reappointed limited-overs captain, Adam Hollioake, said yesterday that apart from his own uncharacteristic lack of self-belief as a leader in the West Indies, his chief problem was that his attack was a bit 'samey'. Only on slow, low pitches, such as those in India, Pakistan and Sharjah, is there room in the same XI for Hollioake and the Kent pair.
The South Africans have reconsidered their plans for the internationals in the light of the sad departure home of Roger Telemachus, whose main role on the tour prior to dislocating his shoulder was to be as a one-day all-rounder. Steve Elworthy, considered an unlucky omission from the original touring team, arrives in his place on Saturday.
No-one has succeeded in finding a serious weakness in South Africa's one-day formula. In the last 'winter' season they played no fewer than 22 one-day internationals and won 18 of them. They beat Australia, in Australia, five times, although they subsequently lost in the final. Hansie Cronje admits that there may be some fallibility on the biggest occasions but they seemed to exorcise that ghost when they crushed Pakistan by nine wickets in the final of their most recent triangular tournament, on April 23.
That competition was billed by local marketing folk as the battle of the three world champions: Pakistan, winners of the World Cup in 1992; Sri Lanka, winners in 1996; and South Africa, winners in 1999. Such arrogance is missing, happily, from the players themselves, but what they do have is a legitimate confidence in themselves. 'Unit' is the buzzword of the moment, but they really do play and practise like the three musketeers.
It is a good side that can leave out Brian McMillan, as South Africa probably will do this morning. Until quite recently he was perhaps the most effective all-rounder in the world. He may well have re-established a right to play by the time of the triangular tournament with England and Pakistan later in the season but at this stage Cronje feels that an extra specialist batsman, Gerry Liebenberg, is a wise precaution, so Lance Klusener will probably take the new ball with Shaun Pollock. The peerless Allan Donald, Jacques Kallis, Cronje himself and Pat Symcox will share the remainder of the overs unless England are running riot.
South Africa's batting goes right down to Symcox, who made a Test hundred late last year at No 10. Such strength in depth just might be needed if there is any change in the weather and what looks a firm, dry but well-grassed Oval pitch happens to have some early life. Two years ago here the Indian fast bowlers made life difficult for Ali Brown and others when they zipped the ball around in the morning, but England still scored 291 for eight and it would be a genuine surprise if fewer than 550 runs are scored today.
England (probable): N V Knight, -A J Stewart, C J Adams, N Hussain, D L Maddy, *A J Hollioake, M A Ealham, C C Lewis, A F Giles, R D B Croft, D Gough.
South Africa (probable): G Kirsten, G F J Liebenberg, J H Kallis, D J Cullinan, *W J Cronje, J N Rhodes, S M Pollock, -M V Boucher, L Klusener, P L Symcox, A A Donald.
Umpires: P Willey & J C Balderstone. Third umpire: R Julian. Match referee: Javed Burki (Pakistan).