Cricket: James Anderson escapes injury after golf ball rebounds off tree root and smacks him in face

James Anderson reacts after a golf ball hit his head. Photo /Twitter

James Anderson thought he had a day off from being peppered with short-pitched bowling, but found himself in the line of fire once again in a freakish incident on the golf course.

In a video shared by England team-mate Stuart Broad on Twitter, Anderson appeared to fancy himself as Seve Ballesteros as he attempted a difficult escape from the trees.

England's leading Test match wicket taker took an almighty hack at the ball, which cannoned into a tree root inches in front of it.

The ball rebounded back towards Anderson from point-blank range, and caught him a nasty blow on the head with a sickening thud.

Broad said Anderson was 'perfectly fine' after the incident, as England enjoy some rest and relaxation before the second Test against India at Lord's.

Cricketers have sustained injury while playing other sports, notably Glenn McGrath in the 2005 Ashes who trod on a cricket ball while playing football and rolled his ankle.

Joe Denly, Matt Prior and Andy Flower are other player who missed internationals due to injuries sustained in training ground soccer games.

Anderson is up against old foe Virat Kohli this summer, in a series that began with a thrilling Test at Edgbaston last week.

Dawid Malan paid the price for his poor run of scores for England by getting dropped for the second Test, with uncapped 20-year-old Ollie Pope called up as a replacement.

The other change to the 13-man squad was expected, with Ben Stokes out because he is attending a court in England from Monday on a charge of affray. Fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes takes his place.

Malan is averaging 16.89 in his nine test matches since the Ashes series in Australia. The 30-year-old left hander made 8 and 20 in the 31-run win over India in the first test at Edgbaston and also missed three catches.