Broad set to miss rest of West Indies tour after T20 battering
ENGLAND captain Stuart Broad said last night that injury will force him out of the remaining couple of Twenty20 games in West Indies, after watching his team comprehensively beaten in Bridgetown.
West Indies won the first of the three-match series by 27 runs after scoring 170-3, boding well for Darren Sammy’s men ahead of the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Broad, meanwhile, is confident of being fit for the start of the tournament, despite a knee problem.
“I’ve had knee patella tendinitis for a little while now,” Broad admitted.
“I caught my knee in the ground in Antigua during the last one-day match and it just swelled up. I’ve struggled to move it a little bit so I won’t be playing the next two Twenty20s. I’ll have a bit of treatment, definitely get an injection in to make sure it’s ok for the World Cup.”
The hosts burst out of the traps last night, Dwayne Smith hitting four boundaries to smack Broad for 19 off the first over. Yet Marlon Samuels was the star of the show, hitting 69 not out – including five consecutive boundaries immediately after he was dropped by James Tredwell at the start of the 18th over.
Chasing 170, England failed to cope with West Indies’ spin, losing seven wickets to slow bowlers as they staggered to 143-9. Broad, run out for five, had appeared injured when unable to get back to his crease.