Stuart Broad will not play any cricket until England head to Australia for the Ashes
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
England pace bowler Stuart Broad will not play anymore competitive cricket until the national team travel to Australia for the Ashes in November.
The decision to sideline Broad comes after he complained of pain in his heel while bowling against the West Indies during the third Test at Lord’s.
The incident occurred when Broad slipped while coming down the pavilion steps after the lunch break on the first day. He subsequently underwent scans, which revealed that he had aggravated an old injury.
“It was ridiculous,” Broad was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “I was just walking out with my spikes on and my back spike just slipped down a stair and I fell down it.
“I said to Jimmy Anderson, ‘I think I’ve hurt my ankle there’. Then it throbbed throughout the afternoon. There are no worries. If there was a Test next week I’d be fit to play.”
Despite his injury, Broad and England Women’s captain Heather Knight attended and participated in a cricket match at a Chance to Shine charity event at Downing Street.
While there, Broad addressed his heel issue, saying: “It is fine. Nothing has changed feelings-wise but there are certainly no doubts leading into the winter. There are no worries, if there was a Test next week I think I would be fit to play, it has not deteriorated throughout the summer.”
With new faces coming into the Test squad this summer, Broad believes that England have plenty of depth going into the Ashes series.
“We have got Joe Root in the side and every time he walks on the field he gets a 50. Stokesy, no one knows what is going to happen but it is very exciting,” the 31-year-old said. “Rocky [Mark Stoneman] looks quite nice at the top of the order, a very tough character, no-nonsense and plays a simplistic game, which suits the Australian pitches like Michael Vaughan used to.
“The bowling attack has been relatively consistent, the emergence of Moeen Ali’s bowling has been awesome for us.
“There seems to be someone different in each Test standing up from the bowling unit and that is what you want – actually it is quite hard to pick the six seamers and someone is going to be disappointed when the squad is announced.”
Furthermore, given that England beat South Africa 3-1 and the West Indies 2-1 on home soil, Broad is confident that his side have what it takes to retain the urn in hostile territory.
England will travel Down Under as the reigning champions as they won the last Ashes series 3-2 back in 2015.
“This is our time as a team, we have been building to this for a while,” he said. “Importantly, we have got experienced players but now we have those mid-experienced players up at 35, 40, 45 Tests and that is when you begin to learn as a player how to get your team out of trouble or how to put your foot on the throat so to speak. It is hard not to be [optimistic].”