LONDON: England’s new-ball Test duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad will both miss the final few weeks of the domestic season through injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Saturday.

However, they are expected to be fit for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.

Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, requires what an ECB statement said was “ongoing rehabilitation” of his right shoulder and won’t now feature again for Lancashire in the remainder of the 2016 county season.

Broad, who last played for Nottinghamshire in their Twenty20 Blast semi-final defeat by Northamptonshire at Edgbaston last Saturday, is recovering from an ankle problem.

However both bowlers are expected to be fit for the Test leg of England’s tour of Bangladesh, which gets underway in October.

“Both players have managed their injuries through the summer and a break from cricket is needed to best prepare the Test opening bowling pair for England’s winter campaign that begins this October in Bangladesh,” the ECB statement added.

Anderson and Broad were both omitted from England’s squad for their ongoing five-match one-day series against Pakistan, with the duo now regarded as Test specialists by the England management.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2016