A month before the start of the Ashes and a little over a fortnight before England face Ireland in their first Test of the summer, Jimmy Anderson has joined a disconcertingly expanding list of injury doubts after a scan confirmed that he had suffered a mild strain to his right groin during Lancashire’s County Championship draw with Somerset.
The injury was significant enough to keep the 40-year-old off the pitch for the final three days of the game, after he had bowled 14 overs in the first. He had a scan on Saturday night, with the news representing a downbeat conclusion to a week in which Jofra Archer was recalled from the IPL because of continued issues with his right elbow and Olly Stone was ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury.
Early assessments suggest Anderson is likely to recover in time for the Ashes. In a statement the ECB said that “his fitness will be assessed nearer the time of the Test match against Ireland”, which starts at Lord’s on 1 June, but the Lancashire coach, Glen Chapple, said: “I don’t think it’s anything too serious … It seemed like a tweaked groin to me.”
A squad for the Ireland Test will be announced this week, and Anderson is expected to be in it while his fitness is monitored.
Should he eventually not be risked in that fixture England’s record Test wicket-taker is unlikely to play until the start of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on 16 June, given that Lancashire’s attention is now switching to the T20 Blast – they play their first fixture in that competition against Derbyshire on Friday – with their next first-class game starting just five days before England and Australia face off in Birmingham.
Even Lancashire’s Second XI now play only T20 cricket until mid-June, and Anderson’s last experience in that format was in 2014.
