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LONDON. — England paceman James Anderson has been ruled out of the first Test cricket against South Africa with a calf injury, the country’s cricket board said yesterday.

Anderson, his country’s leading wicket-taker, complained of stiffness in his calf and bowled just five overs on tour so far in the first warm-up game in Potchefstroom a week ago. The 33-year-old did not play in the second warm-up match in Pietermaritzburg which England won convincingly on Tuesday.

“@jimmy9 ruled out of the first Test vs @OfficialCSA with a calf strain. He’ll be assessed for 2nd Test,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said on their official Twitter feed.

Anderson has claimed 426 Test wickets during his career and overtook previous record-holder Ian Botham during England’s tour of the Caribbean earlier this year.

England will start their four-Test series against South Africa in Durban tomorrow with the second Test at Newlands, Cape Town from January 2.

And South Africa captain Hashim Amla believes England will be considerably weakened by the absence of their pace-bowling talisman Anderson, who was ruled out of the Boxing Day Test yesterday due to a calf strain.

“Obviously Jimmy Anderson is a big bowler for them. It’s a big blow for England. He’s been one of the better bowlers in the world for a few years,” Amla told reporters, two days ahead of the series opener. Amla also played down England’s form in their warm-up matches ahead of the four-test series, saying he was not reading anything into the tourists’ positive performances. England’s top six batsmen have all scored in excess of 50 runs and despite completing a solid innings and 91 run win over a strong South Africa A team on Monday, Amla was not overly impressed. — Reuters.