Health must come before France showdown

CRICKET

Joe Root is mulling over whether to unleash James Anderson and Stuart Broad in tandem for the first time this winter as the England captain welcomed the “great selection headache” ahead of the third Test against India.

England’s top two Test wickettakers of all-time have only taken to the field together seven times in the last two years and have alternated in the four matches on the subcontinent in recent weeks, each playing twice.

Anderson admitted he fears his long-term partnership with Broad, which has brought them in excess of 1100 wickets, is drawing to a close but Root emphatically rejected the suggestion on the eve of the pink-ball Test in

Ahmedabad.

“They have got a chance,” Root said. “It’s a great selection headache to have. I think you’d be wrong to write off those two to do anything, with the records they have had.

“The things they have produced, especially in the last couple of years, have been a reason they are up there with the top three bowlers in the world. They are consistently getting better, the older they get.

“They are using their experience to their advantage all the time. I’m sure there will be opportunities where they get to play together in the near future and much further down the line as well.

“You are talking about two of England’s greatest bowlers and the records they set will be very difficult for anyone to surpass. I feel there’s a lot of life left in them both.”

TENNIS

Former world number one Andy Murray’s return to the ATP Tour ended in defeat to Egor Gerasimov at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.

Britain’s two-time Wimbledon champion, still working his way back to form after undergoing hip surgery two years ago, went down 7-6 (8) 6-1 to the world No.83.

Murray, who was unable to compete at the Australian Open after testing positive for COVID-19, instead played at a lower-level Challenger tournament in Italy where he reached the final before heading to France.

In his first ATP Tour match of the year, the 33-year-old Scot was edged out of a tight first set which lasted an hour and 10 minutes before Gerasimov ran away with the second.

Elsewhere, Johanna Konta lost her first match since withdrawing from the Australian Open following a straight-sets defeat to Shelby Rogers at the Adelaide International. The British No.1 was forced to curtail her participation at the opening major of the year midway through her first-round clash against Kaja Juvan with an abdominal injury.