Anderson ruled out of first Test due to calf strain

James Anderson has been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Durban due to a calf strain.

Anderson reported tightness in his right calf muscle on Monday evening and underwent a scan on Tuesday morning. The strain was confirmed on Thursday, following the ECB medical team's evaluation of the scan.

It is not thought to be a serious injury and England remain hopeful that he will be fit for the second Test, which starts in Cape Town on January 2, although there are only two days between the Tests which puts time at a premium.

Anderson joined his team-mates on the outfield on Thursday morning but did not join in a jogging session at the start of the session. Instead, he glumly kicked a football around with the bowling coach Ottis Gibson.

The rest of the squad, including Steven Finn, were declared fit for the Test match though Joe Root missed training on Thursday due to an upset stomach.

"If you talk to Jimmy, he feels he could have played here," Stuart Broad said. "It's just a slight niggle, but the management decided it really wasn't worth the risk in the first Test. There's a feeling he'll be okay for Cape Town.

'We do know this is a four-Test series and we want him to play a part in it. We've got such depth in the squad there's not the need to take a risk. He's disappointed but with the strength in depth we've got in this group it's not a hammer blow to us."

It seems the beneficiary of Anderson's injury is likely to be Chris Woakes. Woakes, who played the last of his four Tests in August 2014, trained with the likely team on Thursday, while Mark Footitt, Chris Jordan and Gary Ballance trained in a separate group for part of the session.

Head coach Trevor Bayliss said that much onus now rested with Broad to lead the attack. "From Stuart's point of view we've got an obvious replacement as leader of the attack there and I'm sure he would show that he could handle that as he did against Australia in the fourth Test,'' Bayliss said. "It's always a concern if your leading bowler or leading batter misses a game, but the last time Jimmy missed one we did pretty well.''

The last game Anderson missed - and he will now have missed three of England's last six Tests - was at The Oval where Australia won.

But Broad was encouraged by a look at the Durban wicket, which he feels might add seam movement and reverse swing.

"I'm useless at judging a cricket wicket," Broad said. "I wanted to bat at Trent Bridge.

"But there is patchiness and that's interesting as a bowler because when it doesn't look completely smooth you know there could be some different bounce off the different parts of the wicket. From six years ago, I remember the cracks offered a bit in second innings.

"All the talk is about dryness and I remember reverse swing last time. So it's important we take on the lessons from the UAE because our seamers over there bowled really nicely. If we get any chance to reverse it, then we must throw ourselves into it as a team, because the ball moving sideways means you're in the game."

Talk from the groundstaff also suggested a hard pitch full of runs, but with some concern that a continuation of the very hot weather could possibly see it break up later. For all the talk about Anderson, the spinners may have a significant say in the outcome of the match.

Anderson, even if fit for Cape Town, may be underprepared. He has bowled only five overs in match situations on the tour so far and he would need some flat-out training sessions around the New Year to offset his lack of bowling.

It seems Anderson had been aware of a tightness in his calf throughout the tour, but felt the situation deteriorate after attempting to bowl flat out in training on Monday afternoon.

Anderson, now aged 33 and a veteran of 110 Tests, was also forced out of the Ashes series at the halfway point due to a side strain. He missed the final two Tests having been forced off the pitch mid-over during the third Test at Edgbaston.

While his long-term fitness record remains outstanding - since the start of 2012, only the spinner Rangana Herath has bowled more overs in international cricket - there will be a concern that his heavy workload is starting to catch up with him.

Anderson's status as leader of England's attack remains unquestioned, however. Although Stuart Broad performed brilliantly in his absence in the Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, Anderson was immaculate during the recent tour of the UAE. In conditions offering him little, he conceded fewer than two runs an over and claimed his 13 wickets - more than any seamer on either side - at just 15.61 apiece.

Woakes, the likely replacement, was pencilled in to the side anyway before Finn proved his fitness somewhat ahead of schedule during the tour match at Pietermaritzburg.

England's preparation for the Test series against South Africa had appeared to be progressing remarkably smoothly. They crushed the South Africa A side by an innings in their final warm-up game and, as well as Finn proving his fitness, there have been runs for all the top six and wickets for the spinner, Moeen Ali. Anderson's absence has taken the gloss off such promising beginnings.

Ben Stokes was probably the most impressive batsman in the nets on Thursday. One of the net bowlers was forced to seek medical assistance when struck by an especially fearsome straight drive, while Footitt, bowling at sharp pace, made a late bid for inclusion. Alex Hales, on the brink of his Test debut, looked nervous and was dismissed on a couple of occasions.