Ashes 2019 | James Anderson ruled out of Lord's Test with calf injury

In what comes as a body blow to the English team, veteran pacer Jimmy Anderson has been ruled out of the second Test at Lord's after re-injuring his calf. The 37-year-old had earlier torn his calf in a county game for Lancashire on July 2, an injury which kept him out of the one-off Test against Ireland. However, despite being cleared fit to play in the Edgbaston Test, the speedster had to walk off the field after just four overs, bowling no further overs in the game post the injury.

MRI scans revealed that Anderson re-injured the same calf he tore in the county fixture, and now the pacer has been officially ruled out of the second Test starting on August 14th.

Sussex pacer Jofra Archer will be the prime candidate to replace Anderson in the XI, should he prove his fitness in upcoming days. Archer, who has not played first-class cricket in 2019, will play a red-ball match for Sussex 2nd XI against Warwickshire starting on August 6th, in a quest to prove his fitness.

Warwickshire pacer Olly Stone and Surrey all-rounder Sam Curran will also be in the reckoning to replace Anderson in the XI, with Stone having impressed on his debut against Ireland, and Curran having proved to carry an "x-factor" with him whenever he steps on the field.