Cook certain Broad injury of no concern

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599509header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Cook certain Broad injury of no concern" border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599509header.jpg" title="Cook certain Broad injury of no concern" /></a>England captain Alastair Cook is certain that Stuart Broad's broken nose will not be an issue during the fifth Test with India.<br /> <br /> England go into the final Test with a 2-1 lead over India, something that looked very unlikely when the tourists edged ahead in mid-July.<br /> <br /> The two sides drew the first Test and the second saw India win by 95 runs at Lord's, with Cook coming under immense criticism in the wake of the defeat.<br /> <br /> England have battled back and will win the series should they avoid a loss when the fifth Test starts on Friday.<br /> <br /> Cook has been given a boost on the eve of the clincher as Broad, who suffered a broken nose when edging a Varun Aaron delivery at Old Trafford on Saturday, was back in training on Thursday and looks certain to feature at The Oval.<br /> <br /> He told Sky Sports News: "We think Stuart will be absolutely fine.<br /> <br /> "We will wait until [Friday] morning in case something unusual happens overnight, but we are not expecting anything like that at all.<br /> <br /> "It is great news Broady has come through that blow, he likes playing in big games and this is a big game.<br /> <br /> "He batted this morning and he bowled six or seven overs and didn't get any pain from it. So we are expecting him to be absolutely fine.<br /> <br /> "I'm not sure if he will wear a mask, whether for batting or bowling, but I don't think it will affect his performance at all

Alastair Cook Cricket India New England news sports Cook certain Broad injury of no concern

England captain Alastair Cook is certain that Stuart Broad's broken nose will not be an issue during the fifth Test with India. Englan...

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Jayawardene falls cheaply as Sri Lanka collapse

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599561header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/cricket/2014/8/14/599561header.jpg" /></a>Mahela Jayawardene failed with the bat in his final Test as a last-session flurry helped Pakistan take control on day one against Sri Lanka.<br /> <br /> Jayawardene will bring the curtain down on a glittering career in the longest format of the game, which has yielded 34 centuries, upon the completion of the two-match series - which Sri Lanka lead 1-0.<br /> <br /> The 37-year-old fell for just four shortly after tea at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo as the hosts lost six wickets in the last session to reach 261-8 at stumps on Thursday.<br /> <br /> Junaid Khan (4-69) and Wahab Riaz (3-66) did the majority of the damage with the ball for Pakistan, who had initially been up against it as Upul Tharanga (92) made the most of Angelo Mathews' decision to bat after winning the toss.<br /> <br /> Tharanga and opening partner Kaushal Silva (41) were not out at lunch, but the latter was first to fall when he edged Junaid behind.<br /> <br /> Kumar Sangakkara (22) was Sri Lanka's only other victim before tea when he was bowled by Riaz and that brought Jayawardene to the crease in front an expectant home crowd.<br /> <br /> However, the prolific right-hander faced just 16 deliveries before Saeed Ajmal got some sharp turn from outside off stump and trapped him leg before.<br /> <br /> Tharanga, whose knock included 12 boundaries, was dismissed by Riaz just eight runs shy of his century and the wickets continued to fall.<br /> <br /> Mathews (39) put on 38 and 34 with Lahiru Thirimanne (20) and Niroshan Dickwella (24) respectively, but both of his partners were dismissed by Junaid.<br /> <br /> Dilruwan Perera then went for a duck and Pakistan rounded off an excellent final session when Mathews edged Riaz behind to get the decision overturned with a review just before the close.<br /> <br /> The tourists will now look to quickly dispatch the remainder of the tail before attempting to build a first-innings lead on day two.

Cricket Mahela Jayawardene news news sports Pakistan Sri Lanka Jayawardene falls cheaply as Sri Lanka collapse

Mahela Jayawardene failed with the bat in his final Test as a last-session flurry helped Pakistan take control on day one against Sri Lanka....

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