Stuart Broad is on schedule to return to competitive cricket next week as he builds his fitness for England’s First Test against the West Indies next month.
Broad has not played since he sustained a calf injury during the First Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in March, which caused him to miss both the Second Test of that series and the Indian Premier League, where the bowler was due to take up a contract with Kings XI Punjab. But Broad’s rehabilitation is progressing well and he has been pencilled in to play for Notts in the County Championship against Lancashire, which is due to start at Old Trafford on May 2.
With Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson also candidates to play for Notts and Lancashire respectively, that match could feature three members of England’s likely bowling attack for the First Test at Lord’s, which begins on May 17.
England will, however, be monitoring Broad closely due to the series of injuries he has suffered during the last two years.
Broad, a key man in all forms of cricket, missed part of the 2010-11 Ashes and the 2011 World Cup as well as last autumn’s limited-overs series in India.
South Africa have turned down the chance to play limited-overs and Twenty20 internationals in Bangladesh next month, claiming their squad are either playing around the world or injured.
