He was beaten up by a drunk near the team's hotel on Sunday night and may still carry the bruises when he takes the field with England for Friday's first Test against Australia.

Crawley is on standby to open the innings if his Lancashire colleague Mike Atherton does not recover from a recurrence of ankylosing spondylitis, the hereditary degenerative spinal disease he has suffered from throughout his career.

The extent of Atherton's condition is almost unknown to his colleagues on tour or at home because until recently he kept it a close secret.

Crawley, 27, had been out for the evening with team-mates and their Australian opponents in Cairns, Queensland, and was returning alone to the team hotel at 11pm. He was set upon by the man who shouted abuse at him before punching him. Crawley was left on the ground with cuts and bruises.

Graham Gooch, the team manager, said Crawley was ``naturally upset but, other than the cuts and bruises to his face, is fine and fully fit''. Gooch said: ``We considered informing the police, but John is keen to put the matter behind him and concentrate on the Test match.'' Graeme Hick, the Worcestershire batsman, has been called to Australia as cover for Atherton, who was in obvious pain when asked to bat against Queensland, making only one run.

The other opener, Mark Butcher, 26, was hit in the face by a ball in the opening first-class game against Western Australia and required stitches. Since then, he has scored nine runs in five innings.