I won't be the last England injury this series, all bowlers are in the "red zone": Stuart Broad

England pacer Stuart Broad has dropped a major caveat for his team, saying his injury "won't be the last" in the ongoing Test series because all other bowlers are playing in the "red zone." Broad, who was ruled out after the first Test with a calf tear, said the tight white-ball schedule has made it near impossible for the English players to manage the extra workload of Test cricket.

Stuart Broad sustained the injury during a warm-up session ahead of the second Test at Lord's. He and the other England bowlers either had just a few days of practice behind them or match-time in The Hundred and T20 Blast before the series. This was in sharp contrast to India's month-long training, which included a practice match as well. Broad wrote in his column for the Daily Mail on Sunday:

"Sadly, I won’t be the last England injury of this series — not with the GPS ‘red zones’ as they are for players right now. The difficulty with the 2021 schedule being so white-ball dominant is that bowlers have just not built up overs in the bank. Say Saqib Mahmood had been drafted in for this Test. He hasn’t played a red-ball game for 10 weeks and it’s very difficult to play a four or five-day match without some kind of workload behind you. It’s why bowlers do not come back from injury and play straight away."

Speedy recovery, @StuartBroad8 🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 11, 2021

The right-arm pacer, who has played 149 Tests for England, elaborated further:

"This summer, as there wasn’t even any second XI Championship cricket in the weeks before this series started, that hasn’t been possible, and so every single one of our bowlers was in that red zone when the first ball was sent down at Trent Bridge. Sam Curran went from bowling five balls at a time to being asked for 20-25 overs in a day, and it makes life difficult for the likes of Chris Woakes, trying to get back into the team."

James Anderson will have to maintain this form for us to keep in this series: Stuart Broad

A 31st five-wicket haul for James Anderson!What a star 🌟#WTC23 | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Y7wNXrCwec

— ICC (@ICC) August 13, 2021

Stuart Broad also weighed in on his partner James Anderson's superb form in the series. He said the veteran pacer's 'inspiring' returns, which have so far included nine wickets, will be crucial for the hosts if they have to compete against India. Broad added:

"For us to keep in this series, Jimmy will have to have stay in this kind of form and lead an inexperienced attack. Whether he will play all five matches, I don’t know but there is a bit of a break after this match for him to rest up. His relentlessness and desire to keep playing is quite inspiring and highlights how English cricket’s mindset has changed from the era of Freddie Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison."

The Lord's Test hung in the balance after Day 3's play, with England taking a slender 27-run first-innings lead.

Absolutely incredible @root66 💯Day 3 Highlights: https://t.co/mimqPeyif4🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 | #RedForRuth pic.twitter.com/a0L2g7MZAP

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 14, 2021