Broad a worry for selectors after suffering heel injury
Nottinghamshire bowler aggravates old problem Anderson lifts England spirits with wicket haul
Stuart Broad had a scan on his left heel last night to give England another injury worry over their bowling attack before the first Test against South Africa.
Broad only bowled one over for Nottinghamshire yesterday as they wrapped up an innings win over Leicestershire at Trent Bridge.
Broad complained of pain in his left foot and even though the scan did not detect any major problem he is likely to sit out next week’s round of championship matches.
He has been managing a problem in his left heel for a few years and wears special bowling boots to prevent injury.
Broad expects to be fit for the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s next weekend when Nottinghamshire play Surrey but England will be careful not to take a risk their senior bowler with Chris Woakes already ruled out of the first Test with a side injury and James Anderson recovering from a groin strain.
Peter Moores, the Nottinghamshire head coach, said last night: “Stuart had a bit of pain in his heel. He’s had it for a while. If the situation had been different he could have pushed on through. But there was no need to, so he came off. We’ll monitor it and look after him.”
Anderson has been a doubt for the first Test since pulling up with a groin injury while bowling for Lancashire last month. He made his return in this round of matches, bowling 28 overs in the first innings against Hampshire.
In the second innings yesterday, Anderson knocked over Jimmy Adams and Rilee Rossouw in successive deliveries in his second over and later had George Bailey lbw for just 10 runs after the Australian had scored a century in the first innings.
Meanwhile, India expect to have a new head coach installed to succeed Anil Kumble ahead of next month’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Kumble led India to the final of the Champions Trophy, where they lost to Pakistan at the Oval last Sunday, and had been expected to continue as the squad headed out for a limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, which starts tomorrow.
However, on Tuesday he said he no longer wished to be considered for the position after falling out with captain Virat Kohli. Possible replacements include former Indian opener Virender Sehwag and Afghanistan’s national team coach Lalchand Rajput.