England bowling attack dealt blow following James Anderson no-show

England’s troubled Ashes preparation took another twist as a groin injury prevented James Anderson from taking the field for the second day of Lancashire’s Championship fixture against Somerset.

England’s selectors will meet in the coming days to select a squad for the first Test of the summer, against Ireland at Lord’s. The squad will be announced next week, and Anderson’s injury is the third fast-bowling blow of the week.

Olly Stone has been ruled out of at least the first three of the six Tests this summer with a hamstring injury, while uncertainty surrounds the future of Jofra Archer after he flew home from the Indian Premier League to rest his long-standing right elbow injury. The loss of Anderson would be the most grievous blow of the lot.

The 40-year-old got through 14 overs on Thursday, returning outstanding figures of two for 16. However, the 179-cap veteran left the field shortly before rain forced an early finish on day one and did not return on Friday.

Anderson, who turns 41 during the final Test of the Ashes in late July, knows his body well and would not not take risks at the start of such a big summer. Details of the injury were light from England and Lancashire, who painted it as precautionary and said it was a “minor issue”. If it continues to trouble him, he will go for a scan and further assessments, and he seems unlikely to play a part in the final two days of the match.

The match is Anderson’s fourth for his county this summer, during which he has picked up 16 wickets at 20.3, which leaves him on 1,099 first-class wickets. Lancashire do not have a game next week, so this was due to be his last before the Test summer begins. In his absence, Lancashire struggled, with young wicketkeeper James Rew scoring a century to help them recover from 135 for five to 361 all out.

Anderson has suffered groin injuries before. In May 2017, he suffered a tear playing for Lancashire, but was fit again for the start of the Test summer, which was not until July. In 2019, he pulled up with a calf injury four overs into the Ashes and did not play again in the series.

Whether it is fast bowlers suffering injuries or batsmen going unused at the IPL – Ben Stokes and Harry Brook cannot make their teams, while Joe Root is yet to bat in the tournament – it has been a difficult week in England’s preparation for the Ashes, which begin on June 16 at Edgbaston.

Speaking on SENZ, Brendon McCullum, the head coach, confirmed that the selection team – which features managing director Rob Key, selector Luke Wright and Stokes – would meet “in the next couple of days” to pick a squad of 13 or 14 for Ireland, adding “I don’t anticipate it will be easy”.

While England have great bowling depth, the likeliest beneficiary of the fast bowling injury troubles is Durham’s Brydon Carse, who has 263 runs and 14 wickets this season.

In better news for England, Steve Smith made another low score in his second knock for Sussex, leaving him just three more Championship innings to find form before joining his Australia team-mates. He was pinned lbw by Leicestershire’s Wiaan Mulder for three.

At the Oval, glittering innings from Rory Burns (88) and the highly-regarded Jamie Smith (55*) provided Surrey with a strong position against Middlesex on a day affected by rain and bad light.  

Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow will resume on 16 on Saturday in his final Championship innings before the Test summer begins. He will be looking to forge a position of dominance for Yorkshire, seeking their first win of the season, over leaders Durham. Yorkshire lead by 118, with seven second innings wickets in hand.