Broad under a cloud, Moeen set to return at Lord's

England are sweating on Stuart Broad's fitness ahead of this week's second Test against India after the fast bowler suffered a calf complaint.

Broad sat out Tuesday's net session at Lord's after discomfort in his calf during the warm-ups and will be assessed by medics before a decision is made over his availability for what would be his 150th Test.

The 35-year-old went wicketless in the first innings of last week's drawn series opener at Trent Bridge.

But he looked in better form on the fourth evening when he took the only wicket of India's rain-shortened second dig.

Should he be ruled out, Durham quick Mark Wood looks set to step up.

Somerset's Craig Overton, who was added to the squad when Ben Stokes withdrew to prioritise his mental health, is also part of the 18-man squad.

Broad will have a scan on Wednesday to determine the extent of his injury.

Meanwhile, England captain Joe Root is confident the returning Moeen Ali can once again be a Test match-winner despite the allrounder spending most of the last two years as a limited-overs specialist.

Moeen's only Test appearance since the 2019 Ashes came almost six months ago.

But after England were outplayed by India for much of the rain-affected series opener last week, they have called up Moeen for the second Test starting at Lord's on Thursday.

The 34-year-old looks set to slot straight into the Test side after pulling out of The Hundred where he had led Birmingham Phoenix to the top of the table.

"He's certainly a big contender to play. He's been called up to the squad for his capability with both bat and ball," said Root.

"The message is: just to go out there and be Moeen Ali. 

"He has the ability to go out there and win games with bat and ball, he's proven that.

"He plays his best cricket when he is enjoying it and he's full of confidence - it certainly looks that way at the moment, the way he has taken to The Hundred.

"With the way has led Birmingham Phoenix, I would happily give him a huge amount of responsibility if he does play because he responds extremely well to that."

Moeen has not played a first-class game since his previous Test appearance in February, during which he took eight wickets and hit a second-innings 43 in a losing cause against India.

On both occasions in that match he dismissed India captain Virat Kohli, though he played no further part in the series having taken up a scheduled rest period as part of the ECB's rotation policy.