‘It was a big impact but if there's no risk we will play him, no doubt about that,' said England coach Peter Moores. ‘It is a big game at The Oval and we want him there. If that means playing with a football face mask so be it. He will have panda eyes. He will look lovely.' Clearly England's medical staff are comfortable that there are no concussion issues with Broad at a time when awareness of the dangers of the condition is increasing, not least because of a Mail on Sunday campaign.
Broad's injury follows that suffered by Somerset's Craig Kieswetter this summer when he broke his nose and fractured his eye socket after a ball from Northants' David Willey had managed, like Broad's, to burst through his visor.
Cricketers have often lowered the grille of their helmet if they felt it was restricting their vision but new guidelines are set to outlaw that practice, particularly in light of these incidents.
