Stuart Broad gave ailing England another problem when he confirmed he would not bowl again during the third Ashes test in Perth.
Broad was struck on the boot by Mitchell Johnson during England’s poor first-innings show of 251, and was unable to take to the field as his side embarked on a damage limitation exercise.
It was hard to know how effective he would have been as Australia made yet more hay, reaching 235 for three at the close -an overall lead of 369 — and they look certain to regain the Ashes with two tests to spare.
They will bat again on Monday but Broad will not be able to stem the flow of runs as he awaits news on his injury.
Speaking while on crutches, he said: “I had an x-ray, something showed up on the x-ray that was a little bit inconclusive so I had to go to an MRI (scan) and they have been sent back to the to have a look at.
“The treatment at the minute is a lot of ice, elevation, keep off it, because I want to play a part in this series. It won’t be Monday, but hopefully in future.
“I will put my hand up to bat if it improves a little bit overnight and we need that, but I won’t be bowling.”
The Broad news was the last thing England needed on another chastening day.
With old adversary David Warner starring with a thrilling century, their four-year grip on the urn is almost certain to end over the next two days.
But whether it was bravado or not, Broad was giving a positive message.
“There are still two days left in this game,” he said.
“This team has done some special things in the last three or four years and we need something special over the next two days.
“We give a lot of credit to the Australian bowlers. They are running hard at us and not letting us score easily. They have stuck to their plans and it is unlike England not to score a hundred.
“The guys are disappointed but we have to improve in the second innings here and for the rest of the series. There is a lot of belief that things will change for us.”
Chris Rogers, the Australian opener who made 54, knows the Waca pitch well and believes the widening cracks on it are likely to cause England a number of problems when they eventually start their rescue mission.
“There’s a long way to go, we will bat for a while on Monday, who knows, maybe until after lunch, get a good lead and then attack England hard,” Rogers said.
“The cracks are widening, the heat has been amazing and it’s going to be hard to bat on second dig for England.
“When it cracks it can become quite uneven. I haven’t seen cracks like this at the Waca for a while.”
Australian minds could be forgiven for already thinking of a victory party, and Rogers did concede things were looking good.
“If we had said at the start of the day, the ultimate day to have, we’d have been in this position. We’re in the driving seat to go 3-0,” he said.
“They (England) will still fight, it’s hard work for them. Things haven’t gone their way, an injury to Broad and things are mounting up for them.
“It would be amazing. All of us were hurting and to come back and win 3-0 would be fantastic.”
