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England bowler James Anderson was forced to leave the field after pulling up during his run-up while bowling for Lancashire in their Specsavers County Championship clash against Durham.
The 36-year-old, who claimed his 950th first-class wicket on Monday, stretched and attempted to run in three times to shake off the problem, but was forced to leave the action with an injury to his calf muscle.
The ECB issued a statement to confirm that his fitness will be monitored and it’s understood to have been caused by muscle tightness, but with the Ashes first Test 30 days away it is a headache that England head coach Trevor Bayliss could have done without.
An ECB statement read: “Jimmy Anderson has sustained tightness to his right calf. He will take no further part in the game and will continue to be assessed.”
With the first Ashes Test against Australia less than a month away, any potential injury to England’s star bowler will be a major concern for the selectors.
Show all 22 1 /22Player ratings from England vs India Player ratings from England vs India Jason Roy 8 England Jason Roy – 8 – Transformative presence at the top of the order. Such intent, such swagger, such brilliance with the bat to put India on the backfoot and kick partner Bairstow back into life. He should have been gone earlier, of course, gloving down the legside, but eventually fell to a superb catch
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Player ratings from England vs India Jonny Bairstow 8 Let his batting do the talking after a spiky week. Tough start, struggling to find his timing but then emerging, thumping the spinners to leg and then craftily utilising the reverse sweep to springboard up to 100. It should, perhaps, have been more, and his post-ton struggles caused England’s little wobble.
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Player ratings from England vs India Joe Root 6 Battled his way to an underwhelming 44. A rebuilding knock required under the circumstances, though England might have liked Jos Buttler at the crease earlier. Regulation catch dropped in awful fashion at second slip to give Rohit Sharma a life.
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Player ratings from England vs India Eoin Morgan 5 A second poor dismissal in a row, and looking increasingly frail against the short ball, which is now a glaring weakness. Intelligent changes to bring back his wicket-takers (Archer and Plunkett) with Sharma and Kohli threatening.
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Player ratings from England vs India Ben Stokes 8 Brilliant. Again. Somehow the only member of England’s top six without a hundred so far in the tournament, but undoubtedly the player in the best form, rebuilding with Root and then upping the rate. His reverse-swept six, change of stance and all, was utterly filthy.
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Player ratings from England vs India Jos Buttler 6 A lively cameo, but just a cameo. Could he have come in earlier, perhaps after Bairstow’s dismissal?
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Player ratings from England vs India Chris Woakes 8 Magnificent opening spell at his home ground, conceding his first run in his fourth over and taking a solid diving catch in his follow through to dismiss Rahul. Returned in the 37th over to remove Rohit with an off-cutter. Strong at the death, too, with intelligent plans executed well.
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Player ratings from England vs India Liam Plunkett 8 So potent through the middle overs, England have to keep Plunkett in the side. It was a pitch that aided his cross-seamers, yes, but he just has a knack of taking wickets at the right time, getting Kohli and then Pant at crucial junctures, and finally Pandya.
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Player ratings from England vs India Jofra Archer 7 Archer should have had Rohit in his first over, Root grassing a simple catch, Archer pushing the ball fuller after coming in for criticism against Australia for his lengths. He helped pry Kohli out with a tight two-over burst after returning to the attack and was tight thereafter, to such an extent that India gave up the chase before his final two overs.
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Player ratings from England vs India Mark Wood 5 The weakest of England’s seamers by some distance, for once his natural skid detrimental on a pitch. Wicketless and expensive, and maybe vulnerable if England want to get another spinner back into the team on a dry pitch.
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Player ratings from England vs India Adil Rashid 6 Odd-thinking from Rashid and Morgan, leaving the off-side boundary bare and yet giving Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli plenty of opportunities with which to find that fence. Not a day for the spinners, but Rashid bowled a key over at the death, and Eoin Morgan clearly backs him.
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Player ratings from England vs India KL Rahul 2 An awful day. Damaged his back early on the field, spent most of the innings resting, came out to open, played nine dot balls looking uncomfortable against each of them and then spooning an innocuous delivery back to Woakes to go tamely for a duck.
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Player ratings from England vs India Rohit Sharma 8 A scratchy knock, getting a life on four, but another 100 at a decent rate with 15 boundaries. He had to grit and grind up to 50 with little in the way of timing but steadily found a little fluency from there, but fell at just the wrong time with Pant promising, swinging hard at a wide slower ball from Chris Woakes.
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Player ratings from England vs India Virat Kohli 7 Oh, what might have been. Some of the most perfect cricket shots you could ever wish to see on his way to a 66 that looked likely to be more as the arch-chaser set about things again. Failed to convert yet again, however – curious for a player so typically proficient in capitalising. Seized opportunities with smart bowling changes in the field, but was hamstrung by off days from his spin pair on a pitch not suited to them.
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Player ratings from England vs India Rishabh Pant 6 So peculiar a stroke-maker with seemingly no control behind any of his shots, and yet so consistent a striker of a cricket ball. It was a very entertaining 32 from Pant, but he should have done more with Plunkett’s ball to dismiss him rather than flipping it upwards.
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Player ratings from England vs India Hardik Pandya 7 Better with the ball than figures of 0-60 indicate, triggering the Indian comeback in the field with a string of tight overs, utilising cutters particularly well to stem the flow of runs. Promoted ahead of Dhoni and Jadhav with quick runs needed and started wonderfully, but struggled to get England’s slower balls away and eventually fell to one from Plunkett.
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Player ratings from England vs India MS Dhoni 6 Usually incredibly accurate in his decision-making from behind the stumps and with such sway with the captain you’d have thought he’d have convinced Kohli to review the Roy glove down the leg-side. Came to the crease with a finishing job to do - normally a role he’d relish – but nudged and nurdled, presumably concerned about net run rate. Odd.
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Player ratings from England vs India Kedar Jadhav Demoted below the proper biffers with the run rate climbing, and over-less on an Edgbaston surface offering little for proper spinners, let alone his subterranean tweakers. Took a safe catch.
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Player ratings from England vs India Kuldeep Yadav 4 England showed intelligence to force Kuldeep to change his style, hitting him down the ground early on, latching on to his tendency to toss the ball up and push it too full on a pitch not truly turning. That forced Kuldeep into his shell and he bowled too quickly, allowing England to work him square and behind the wicket. Salvaged his figures a little at the end of his spell.
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Player ratings from England vs India Yuzvendra Chahal 4 Probably bowled better than Kuldeep, but the most expensive figures at a World Cup by an Indian bowler paint their own grotesque picture. Not a day the ripping leg-breaks he favours, really, on a flat pitch.
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Player ratings from England vs India Jasprit Bumrah 7 Strong at the top, outstanding at the death. Four exceptional death overs and one very good one. Truly a paragon of death overs bowling with changes of line, length and pace, seldom a bad ball and such potency with his yorkers.
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Player ratings from England vs India Mohammed Shami 8 Five wickets, yes, but tested at the death and teams will now feel they can latch on to him in that phase. Unlucky to go unrewarded in the first powerplay, brilliant in seizing momentum through the middle and then scattergun and expensive in closing, despite picking up the three wickets and five-for.
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While England’s one-day international squad have been in World Cup action, Anderson has spent a prolonged spell with his county in preparation for the Ashes which begins at Edgbaston on August 1.
This match at Sedbergh School – the County Championship’s newest venue – is Anderson’s sixth game in the competition and his two wickets on Monday took his tally to an impressive 30 for the season.
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