[caption id="attachment_92946" align="alignleft" width="210"]
Jimmy Anderson[/caption]CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh — England’s record-breaking bowler Jimmy Anderson, who has already been ruled out of the current tour of Bangladesh, will miss next month’s first Test against India, captain Alastair Cook said Wednesday.
“I don’t think he’ll be there for the start. He might be ready to do some training, but he won’t be ready for the first Test match” in India, Cook told reporters.
“I don’t know what’s happening — they will be making some decisions over the next seven days or so. I spoke to him last night and he is training well and in good shape physically.”
Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, has not played since the fourth Test against Pakistan in August because of a shoulder injury. He has not traveled to Bangladesh, where England on Thursday begins a two-Test series in Chittagong.
Asked whether he was optimistic the 34-year-old would play some part in the five-Test India series, Cook refused to give any guarantees and said a decision on when he would travel had still to be made.
Khawaja may open: Lehmann
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja could find himself opening against South Africa’s formidable pace attack in the first Test in Perth on Nov. 3, just months after being dropped during a poor tour of Sri Lanka.
Khawaja has played most of his cricket at number three for Australia but could end up at the top of the order for the Test at the WACA after Shaun Marsh suffered a hamstring strain.
“I think you can look at him (Khawaja) as a one, two or three,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann told reporters in Sydney Wednesday. “It depends on the make-up of the side. “At the end of the day the captain will decide where the batting order lies and we’ll just give him the side we think is the best prepared and the best team to win that particular game.”
At three, Khawaja enjoyed a prolific home summer against New Zealand and West Indies, smashing a century in three tests and adding a fourth ton on tour in New Zealand in February. His form deserted him on the flat wickets in Sri Lanka, however, where he managed only 55 runs from four innings before being omitted for the third test in Colombo in August.
Khawaja will hope for a good knock captaining Queensland in the final of a local one-day tournament Sunday.
