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THE World Cup was the last thing on Graham Thorpe's mind when he was forced to quit the Ashes tour with a recurrence of the back injury he thought had been cured. He will complete a remarkable recovery from that career-threatening blow, however, when he is named this week in England's final 19.

Not only that, but England are prepared to fast-track one of their best batsmen straight into their first-choice World Cup line-up if he can prove he really has recovered from a condition that has plagued him since last year's West Indies tour. And he will repay that faith by making a personal sacrifice so big that he has agonised over it with his family before making himself available for the Sharjah tournament, a condition of World Cup selection.

Thorpe's wife Nicky is expecting their second child on April 6 in the middle of England's trip to Pakistan and Sharjah - and the Surrey man has now confirmed he will miss the birth to try to regain his place in the England line-up. It has not been easy.

``It's personal and it has been difficult,'' said Thorpe, speaking for the first time about the dilemma and his fitness battle. ``I wouldn't say my wife is entirely happy about it, but it's the situation we're in and it's done. Now I've got to get on with it. If picked I'll go to Sharjah.''

And he will go in a positive frame of mind. ``My career supports my family and you have to make sacrifices at times. The important thing for us is that Nicky has a network in place to support her, good people around, for the peace of mind of both of us because I don't want to go away and be bitter about it. That's been sorted now.

``This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make and there's no easy answer. I've had to analyse what's important in life but I kept on coming back to the two biggest things I could imagine - being at the birth of my child and hitting the four that wins the World Cup for England. . .''

He smiles and leaves the rest of the sentence unanswered, not wanting to say he had put the chance to do the latter ahead of the former. But that is the essence of it. A man who has spent the last 10 winters away from home with England, on largely unsuccessful overseas missions, is still chasing the dream. Not only that, but his drive has been enhanced by two months away from the 'office', a time to take stock. Traditionalists may scoff at a modern player bemoaning the demands of touring but England's best players must be allowed a break. ``It's been great to be here,'' said Thorpe, 29, while building work on an extension continued at his home in Ewell.

``In many ways I've become a parent and a husband again and I've appreciated the chance to get my priorities right. I've had fantastic support from my family and I owe them a lot. If I had played on the whole Australian tour maybe there might have been a case for me asking to be at home during Sharjah, but I can see it through the selectors' eyes.''

It is a key point because there is no doubt that England, perhaps forgetting much of the good cricket they played in their early one-day internationals in Australia and remembering only the bad at the end, will be taking a huge gamble in rushing Thorpe back. Especially in a team which will also include Neil Fairbrother, a certainty after his one-day mastery in Australia but a player susceptible to injury. It is a risk they are keen to take, a reflection on Thorpe's quality at both the short and long games.

``I wish I could say I will never have back problems again but I can't,'' said Thorpe, a quiet man becoming more confident in his public utterances. ``I'm just quietly convinced it will be fine. I believe the strength has returned to my back, providing I pay attention to all the things I need to do.''

It has been a worry both for Thorpe and England. He had the occasional back spasm when he was younger, but it first became serious when he left the Caribbean tour early. Then a breakdown during last summer's Old Trafford Test left him needing an operation to remove a cyst which was followed by a premature comeback for Surrey's championship decider at the Oval. He made a good start to the Ashes tour until a plane journey from Adelaide to Perth caused a reaction that forced him home. Intense rehabilitation has been followed by a visit from Graham Gooch to check his progress and the promise of a fitness test before the squad is finalised.

``It was my lack of understanding over why it happened again that really bothered me,'' said Thorpe. ``But I saw an excellent specialist in Perth and perhaps the strength wasn't completely there in Australia. Everything feels good now. I've been playing non-stop for 10 years and I'd got fed up with taking pain-killing tablets. My body told me to stop and I'll come back stronger for the knowledge I've gained. I'll be apprehensive when I play again but I don't want to get paranoid.''

That will be enough to convince selectors Gooch, David Graveney, Alec Stewart and Mike Gatting (in contact from New Zealand) plus coach David Lloyd that Thorpe should be included when they meet this week to name the 19-man party to be reduced to 15 at the end of March.

Possible starting XI: Knight, Wells, Hick, Stewart, Thorpe, Fairbrother, Ealham, Croft, Austin, Gough, Mullally. Others: Hussain, A Hollioake, Fraser, Martin, Hamilton, Alleyne, A Brown (or Atherton), Giles.