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Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the first two one-day internationals against South Africa with a shoulder injury. Broad had already missed the Twenty20 series and two practice games, including Tuesday’s victory over South Africa A, after incurring the problem while tumbling in the outfield during the first warm-up game in Bloemfontein.

The England management reasoned that on a long tour with four Test matches after the five one-dayers, it was not worth risking such a crucial player. Broad, 23, voiced concerns at the beginning of the tour about player burnout and now has nine days to get himself ready for the third ODI in Cape Town.

In better news for the injury-plagued tourists, Paul Collingwood hopes to overcome a back injury in time for the first ODI at the Wanderers on Friday, in which he hopes to become England’s most-capped one-day player. He is currently level with Alec Stewart on 170 matches, but is confident he has a good chance of making the series opener.

“[The injury] is actually progressing really well. If I was playing today I would have been 50-50, but I’ve got a couple of days to go so the chances are going to be very high,” Collingwood told reporters in Johannesburg. “It was very, very sore on Sunday and I had two injections on Monday [but] everything seems to have settled down. I’m doing the work in the gym and progressing really well, so I’ve got a very good chance for Friday.”

Collingwood was one of five players unfit for England’s tense victory over South Africa A on Tuesday and injuries have blunted England’s attack. With the injuries to Broad and James Anderson, England have been unable to bowl sides out so far on this tour, and with Sajid Mahmood and Tim Bresnan failing to impress, the selectors have called up Liam Plunkett as cover.

They had already opted for youth ahead of this tour, ditching Steve Harmison and Ryan Sidebottom and given the strength of South Africa’s batting, it could be a tough experience for the inexperienced line-up. But Collingwood is not concerned and feels Anderson will play a pivotal role when he does return.

“I think we’re aggressive as a unit, I think we’re getting more experience and we’ve obviously got Jimmy Anderson to come back into the side, which is crucial. He’s a real kind of leader for us now in terms of the bowling stakes. For such a young guy, I know that’s a big statement, but he is a real leader in bowling. “But again, we’ve got a lot of potential and very dangerous bowlers, obviously with Broady coming back in as well. We have missed those two when they were injured. Hopefully they will be fit pretty soon and we can get back to bowling sides out.”
Source:Cricket News

Image Source:Cricinfo

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