Stuart Broad ruled out of county match, in doubt for Lord's Test

English pace spearhead Stuart Broad’s injury concerns have kept his participation for the first couple of Tests in the blockbuster series against South Africa at home in doubt. Keen to recuperate from injury and play a pivotal role in the 4-Test series as well as the Royal London One-Day Cup final on 1st July.

Broad suffered another setback as he was sidelined in a County Championship Match against Kent that the ECB was keen for him to play as they try the Pink Ball and examine the prospects of day-night Tests. Nottinghamshire’s Head Coach, Peter Moores, said “I think he was really looking forward to playing in the Kent game. He knows it’s a big game for us in the season and he’s been very much a part of the team for much of the last three months.”

While Moores also stressed that Broad left the field purely as a precaution and would not have done if the context of the match had been different – Notts were cruising to victory – the fact that he is undergoing a scan and the proximity to the Test series suggests the issue may be a little more serious than previously thought.

Desperate to play

Moores added: “He’s desperate to play in the final, as you’d expect, and it’s been fantastic to have him with us with the commitment he has shown to the club.”

“We’re all hoping it’s going to be OK. He will do everything he can to be, and now we just have to be patient and see how it turns out.”

The right-arm pacer bowled just one over before being forced off the field after complaining of pain in his left heel as the Nottinghamshire side he was representing defeated Leicestershire by an innings. He underwent scans in the next 24 hours to determine the extent of the injury but the pain has persisted, which has kept him out of action and leaves him in doubt for the first Test on Thursday at the home of cricket.

This setback comes after England’s bowling has already been devoid of resources, with the participation of Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes in doubt and with 35-year-old James Anderson just having recovered from injury and being far from his best.

Woakes had previously been ruled out of the Champions Trophy while Stokes has had a long season with fatigue creeping and injury concerns arising. The availability of the heart of the English attack and their main strength will be known only as the first Test comes closer.