Tourists delay Broad decision; Dawson in frame for debut
Thursday 16 March 2017 12:46, UK
England bowler James Anderson will miss the fifth Test against India due to "body soreness".
Anderson only returned from a three-month lay-off with a shoulder injury in last month's second Test in Visakhapatnam and captain Alastair Cook confirmed England would rest their record wicket-taker with the series already lost.
Cook also revealed Anderson's fellow bowler Stuart Broad would undergo a fitness test ahead of the countries' final meeting in Chennai having missed the previous two Tests with a tendon strain in his right foot.
"Unfortunately, Jimmy is ruled out. He's picked up some body soreness from the last game and he's not going to be risked in this game," said Cook, who is two runs away from becoming the 10th batsman in Test history to reach the 11,000 mark.
"Obviously we'll make a decision on Broady after this training session. We can't do a huge amount of a net stuff, but we're going to do some fielding and a run around to get ourselves going. We'll pick the team from there.
"It's just not worth the risk with him (Anderson), especially over the past six months or so. When he's been in this situation and we've played him, he's picked up niggles and injuries.
"This doesn't seem the right time to play him. He is sore from the previous game and we don't see as a management group it's worth taking a risk.
"Could he get through? Yes, he possibly could get through. But recently over the last six months, unfortunately when we've played him here, he's picked up an injury from it. It doesn't seem worth the risk in this game."
Fitness doubts over Broad will also be a concern. The paceman has missed the last two Tests with a tendon strain in his right foot with a decision due on his involvement expected after Thursday's practice.
"Broady is fit and has a chance. He bowled at a local ground on Wednesday. It's great to have him back," added Cook.
After drawing the opening Test, England are fighting for pride as they trail 3-0 going into the fifth and final match and may opt to give a Test debut to Hampshire spinner Liam Dawson.
Newly-wed seamer Ishant Sharma returns to India's squad after last week's ceremony but the hosts could well stick with the same side that clinched an unassailable lead in Mumbai.
England (possible): AN Cook (Captain), KK Jennings, JE Root, MM Ali, JM Bairstow (wkt), BA Stokes, JC Buttler, LA Dawson, AU Rashid, JT Ball, SCJ Broad
India (possible): M Vijay, KL Rahul, C Pujara, V Kohli (Captain), K Nair, P Patel (wkt), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, J Yadav, B Kumar, U Yadav
You can watch the fifth Test between India v England live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 3.30am on Friday.
