England remain tight-lipped over the fitness of Jimmy Anderson as it emerged that Mark Wood, one of their World Cup-winning fast bowlers, will miss the rest of the season because of side and knee injuries.
Anderson bowled only four overs on day one of the first Ashes Test before being sent to hospital for scans. He reported “tightness” in the same right calf that was torn while playing for Lancashire at the end of June and which forced him to miss a month of cricket.
But amid fears the possible recurrence will require him to sit out the rest of the series – potentially the last Ashes of his record-breaking career – the 37-year-old is keeping alive the slim hope he can somehow bowl again in Australia’s second innings.
Anderson was seen lightly jogging before the start of play on day two and also batted in preparation for his duties at No 11. Stuart Broad, who revealed the previous evening that his strike-partner apologised for leaving his fellow bowlers a man down, tried to endorse this possibility during an interview with Sky.
Broad, who led the attack in Anderson’s absence and claimed figures of five for 86 in Australia’s first innings, said: “Jimmy will be working desperately hard on ice and rehab. He said to me last night there’s a chance he might bowl second innings. If the scan comes back and there’s no major mark on it, he will strap it up and go. One thing we know about Jimmy is that if there’s a chance of him bowling he will.”
One certainty is that Wood’s summer is over. Ed Smith, the national selector, had hoped the Durham fast bowler might be fit for the back-end of the Ashes after suffering a side strain during the World Cup final.
But the injury, picked up while bowling but then exacerbated when diving for a run off the last ball of England’s tied run chase, is now deemed serious enough to make the winter tour to New Zealand a more realistic target for the 29-year-old’s comeback.
England confirmed that Wood underwent an operation to tidy up some torn cartilage in his left knee – a procedure that has a rehab period of a few weeks but could have been delayed had the original side strain settled down sooner.
Jofra Archer, who required injections to battle through a side problem during the World Cup, took a wicket during his four overs for Sussex in their T20 win over Kent on Friday night. While yet to make his Test debut, England’s leading wicket-taker in that campaign appears favourite to replace Anderson for the second Test at Lord’s from 14 August provided he can demonstrate his readiness.
Sam Curran, who offers a point of difference from his left-arm angle and pugnacious lower-order runs, and Olly Stone, the fast bowler who claimed three Ireland wickets on his debut last week, are the other candidates to step up among the current squad.
As well as Archer and Wood, the injury repercussions from the World Cup also include Adil Rashid. The leg-spinner had been down to make his comeback for Yorkshire’s T20 side on Friday night after being given time to rest his longstanding shoulder injury
But he has now been referred back to England’s medical team after telling the club it is “the worst it has been this summer”. As a centrally contracted player, and having recommitted to first-class cricket, Rashid had been hopeful of forcing his way back into England’s Test plans before the end of the season.
Colin Graves and Tom Harrison, the respectively chairman and chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, are due to appear in front of the digital, culture, media and sport committee on 23 October to outline how they intend to build on England’s victory in the World Cup.
The pair will be asked about participation, broadcasting rights and revenue, as well as plans for next year’s new tournament, The Hundred, the concept which has thus far struggled to capture the public’s imagination.
