England weigh up Stuart Broad fitness for South Africa Test after heel problem

Getty Images
Tom Collomosse22 June 2017

England are weighing up whether to risk Stuart Broad in the opening Test of the summer against South Africa due to the fast bowler’s ongoing heel problem.

Broad had a scan after he was able to bowl only one over for Nottinghamshire against Leicestershire on Wednesday. He was expected to learn the results late on Thursday.

Broad has been managing the condition in his left heel for some years. It forced him to fly home early from a Test series in India in 2012 and he has worn customised bowling boots ever since.

Broad, who turns 31 on Saturday, is one of England’s most important Test players but the schedule invites caution. The four-match Investec Series against South Africa, which starts at Lord’s on July 6, begins a run of 11 Tests in six months.

After South Africa, there are three home Tests against West Indies before England travel to Australia for five Ashes Tests. Broad was said to be desperate to play at Lord’s but it would be no surprise to see the England selectors and management hold him back for at least one match.

Broad will almost certainly miss next week’s day/night round of Championship matches, which England players will use as a dry run for the pink-ball Test against West Indies at Edgbaston in August. England’s Ashes Test at Adelaide will also be day/night, and it is likely their Test against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland, next March will be, too.

Broad is also a severe doubt for Notts’ Royal London One-Day Cup Final against Surrey at Lord’s on July 1. And if he missed the Test, it would leave England without two of their three best pace bowlers.

Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images

Chris Woakes suffered a side strain during the opening game of the Champions Trophy, against Bangladesh on June 1, and seems certain to miss at least the first two Tests.

England may select Broad as part of an extended squad, which would also include his Notts team-mate Jake Ball. Ball is the likeliest replacement for Woakes while Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones, who has 22 Championship wickets at 31.5 apiece this summer, would also come into contention along with Steve Finn and Liam Plunkett.

Luckily for new Test captain Joe Root, Jimmy Anderson has recovered well from his thigh injury and was fit enough to take part in Lancashire’s Championship meeting with Hampshire, bowling 28 overs in the first innings.

Between them, Anderson and Broad have 835 Test wickets between them and are one of the finest new-ball partnerships England have had.

Root and coach Trevor Bayliss also have problems to solve in the batting order.

Haseeb Hameed, of Lancashire, appeared certain to be Alastair Cook’s opening partner but he is still waiting for his first Championship 50 of the summer, while Durham’s Keaton Jennings has also lost form. That brings Mark Stoneman, who has done well since joining Surrey, into the picture.

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Does Root stay at No3 or drop back to No4? Jonny Bairstow has surely done enough to bat in the top six. Could Adil Rashid play as a second spinner?

Root and Bayliss will need to provide convincing answers to all those questions if England are to start their Test summer well.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in