Anderson out of India Test

CHENNAI — England will be without its leading wicket-taker James Anderson in the fifth and final Test against India, captain Alastair Cook said Thursday. Anderson experienced soreness in his ankles and shoulder during the previous Test in Mumbai, prompting team management to withdraw him from what is essentially a contest of academic interest following India’s unassailable 3-0 lead. “It’s not worth the risk,” Cook said of the 34-year-old right-arm paceman. “When he has been in this situation over the last six months and we have played him, he has picked up injuries. “It doesn’t seem the right time to play him.” Anderson returned from a shoulder injury to play the second Test against India, taking four wickets in his team’s defeat at Visakhapatnam. He went wicketless in the subsequent Tests in Mohali and Mumbai as India sealed the series with a match to spare. The decision to mothball Anderson was also a clear indication that his team expect the ageing bowler to play a key role in the next summer. “I’m very confident he can make a big contribution to English cricket over the next couple of years,” Cook said. “But we’re going to have to manage him a bit more in Tests. He might miss a couple more Tests as a precaution, he might not. “With a couple of months off now, his body might fly again. He’s a very athletic guy and he’s very light on his feet. He can still make a big difference to English cricket over the next couple of years.” A decision on the availability of fellow paceman Stuart Broad, returning from a foot injury, would be taken after Thursday’s practice, Cook added. India’s captain Virat Kohli urged his in-form teammates to “leave a mark on world cricket” by going on to become one of the greatest sides ever. Kohli’s India is bidding to extend its 17-game unbeaten run in the dead rubber, which starts in the southern city of Chennai Friday. The hosts, who have already clinched the series 3-0, will become the first Indian team to go 18 matches without a loss if they avoid defeat against Alastair Cook’s struggling tourists. Kohli called on his players to build on recent successes and become a team that can be mentioned in the same breath as Don Bradman’s Australian “Invincibles” and the legendary West Indies side of the 1980s. — Agencies