England pace bowler James Anderson will not play the final two Tests in South Africa after suffering a rib injury in the Cape Town Test. Anderson injured himself on the final day of the second Test and MRI scans on Wednesday confirmed he won’t be back in action for the remainder of this series.
The 37-year-old, who made his comeback following the calf injury that endured in last summer’s Ashes series, will be disappointed to have injured himself only two games after.
Anderson spent five months working on his injuries.
“James Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against South Africa after sustaining a left rib injury in England’s second Test victory at Newlands,” an ECB statement said.
“Anderson felt tightness and discomfort at the end of the morning session on day five and was only able to bowl eight overs during the day. He will return to the UK in the next few days.”
Anderson’s tally of 584 Test scalps makes him the highest wicket-taker for his country and one of the highest in world Test history. In the Boxing Day Test, he became just the ninth man to win 150 Test caps.
His new injury will require more than two months for him to make a comeback, and so it is obvious that he will not play against Sri Lanka in what is England’s next assignment.
Anderson, as of now, will be eyeing another career milestone – to become the fourth man in history to take 600 Test wickets after Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.
With the 37-year-old injuring himself every now and then, England will sooner or later start imagining of their future without Anderson.
“You feel, with the calf strain he had last summer and now this, it’s going to be very tough for him to continue his England career,” said Mark Ramprakash on Sky while doing commentary. This is going to be a pill hard to swallow for England fans.
