England cricket: James Anderson rules out doubts in India Test with Stuart Broad

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James Anderson and Stewart Broad played while England withdrew their first Test against India

Stewart Broad will miss England’s second test against India, which begins on Thursday, with James Anderson in doubt.

Broad, 35, has a calf problem, with fears he will miss not only the Lord’s Test, but more matches after that.

Anderson, 39, has a quadriceps shake, England expecting more information on him later on Wednesday.

Lancashire’s Saqib Mahmood has been called as cover, with Mark Wood and Craig Overton other bowling options on the team.

The series reached 0-0 after pulling off the first test at Trent Bridge.

England’s fast bowling resources are already exhausted. Jofra Archer, due to an elbow injury, and Ole Stone, who has a back problem, have been absent for a long time, while Chris Wox has a heel problem.

The multi-skilled player Ben Stokes has also taken an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health.

Broad, who has 524 wickets, could have been in line to play his 150th Test at Lords, but he hurt his right calf on Tuesday.

Anderson moved to 621 wickets — third on the all-time list — during the first test. However, he missed training on Wednesday.

Asked if England could cope without the two attacking captains, hitter Jonny Bairstow told BBC Sport: “I don’t see any reason why we can’t adapt.

“We’ve had a lot of people who have stood up before. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen tomorrow, but there might be a chance for someone to take a test at Lourdes, which is an exciting prospect.”

Bairstow admitted losing bowlers of Anderson and Broad’s caliber, “I don’t think it’s very destabilizing.”

“It’s the nature of professional sport. There will be injuries and sometimes illness. You have to be able to adapt.”

England already looked ready to make changes on their side, with multi-level bowler Moin Ali likely coming to the batsman to bring more depth and variety to the attack.

Batsman Haseeb Hamid and Oli Al-Baba compete to return.

India would be without speed bowler Chardol Thakur, who has injured his hamstring.

His absence could mean the return of non-rotating player Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test despite having 413 Test points to his name as India selected four front-line players.

“Four fast shooters mean you can apply pressure in every session,” said Captain Virat Kohli. “We love playing with that model.”

Kohli has confirmed that Thakur will likely be fit for the third Test at Headingley.

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