Not 100 per cent sure if Stuart Broad will be fit for the 4th Test: Trevor Bayliss

England pacer Stuart Broad having sustained a tendon injury to his right foot during the second Test at Vizag missed out from the Mohali Test that the team eventually went on to lose. The fourth Test at Mumbai is still five days away and Broad has been wearing the moon-boot to boost his recovery. But England coach Trevor Bayliss yesterday admitted that there was no certainty whether the 30-year-old would be fit in time for the next Test.

With the amount of experience he has, and the partnership with senior-pro James Anderson, Broad is a key bowler for England and to enhance his chances of getting fit in time he will rehabilitate with the England Lions team in Dubai. The English team flew to Dubai to enjoy the break and reenergize themselves after some non-stop and tough cricket they have played in the last couple of months.

Answering question on Broad’s availability for the Mumbai Test, Bayliss said: “I’m not 100 per cent confident. He’s out of the moon-boot now, but we won’t really know until he gets back for those practice days before the Test. We’ll leave him as late as possible.”

The English team is spending some time off the game with their families before they return to Mumbai on Monday and start preparations for the fourth match. “We’ve been on the sub-continent for a long time. It can be difficult at times, even away from the game – the different types of food even, everything that goes along with it,” he said.

“This is an opportunity to get away for three or four days, refresh and – we hope – come back raring to go.”

While most of the players wanted to switch off from cricket allrounder Ben Stokes who has been in some form with the ball, bat and his verbal skills decided to stay back in India. The Coach was also surprised that the was fined for the altercation with Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli in the Mohali Test.

“He’s got to learn to deal with it in a different way or get away with it a bit better,” he said. “He’s come a long way in the last 12 months. But at times the ICC are almost looking for things. Having some personalities in the game is fantastic to watch.”

Stokes now has a century as well as a five-wicket haul in the series in India which made him only the second player to do so after the legend Ian Botham. “Some of us are in awe of what he does,” said Bayliss. “He just doesn’t stop. He’s like a wind-up clock. You get him off at the break, wind him up and send him back out.”