England will not change squad for fifth Test with India

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced an unchanged squad for the fifth Test against India, with Stuart Broad expected to play in a face mask.

The paceman was hit on the bridge of his nose while batting at Old Trafford on Saturday when a short ball from Varun Aaron found its way between the peak of Broad's helmet and the grille. Scroll down to see video footage of Broad's injury

He watched the rest of the game from hospital as England skittled India for 161 in their second innings to win by an innings and 54 runs and take a 2-1 lead in the series with one match remaining.

Broad posted a picture of himself on Twitter on Sunday morning with a bloodied and stitched-up nose but, despite X-rays showing a fracture, he seems certain to play at The Oval.

Broad wrote: “Little bit sore this morning but not too bad! Doc did a great job with the stitches. On to The Oval! (With a mask).”

The 28-year-old, who was named man of the match for his six wickets in the first innings, has already announced that he will undergo knee surgery after the series.

Read more: England captain Cook delighted to wrap up early as India fold up meekly

Steve Finn and Ben Stokes were the two players omitted from the side at Old Trafford who will hope to force their way into the XI for the Oval Test, which begins on Friday.

Wretched form in England exposes India’s batting woes

Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli’s wretched form in England has again exposed India’s failure to fill the huge void left in the batting line-up when Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar retired.

Dravid, India’s formidable number three batsman, ended his career in January 2012 after scoring 13,288 runs in 164 tests, with many of those coming in tricky overseas conditions.

Run-machine Tendulkar bid farewell last November after a career spanning 24 years, during which he played 200 Tests for India and scored close to 16,000 runs in the longest format.

The lack of a succession plan was bemoaned as the ageing batsmen reached the twilight of their careers during a horrid spell for the team away from home, when they lost eight tests in a row in England and Australia.

India had not won a Test match outside the country since 2011 when they set foot on English soil and after the thumping losses in Southampton and Manchester, last month’s stirring win at Lord’s appears to stand out as a flash in the pan.

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