England were given a major scare ahead of the second Test against India at Lord’s with pace spearhead James Anderson suffering a freak golfing ‘accident’.

Fresh from their thrilling 31-run win over India in the first Test at Edgbaston, James Anderson and his England new-ball partner Stuart Broad took to golf over the weekend.

Unfortunately for Anderson, the pacer was at the receiving end of a big whack to the face while attempting a swing. England’s all-time leading wicket-taker saw his attempted shot cannon off a tree root before striking him hard on the face.

His team-mate Broad was on hand to record the happenings on a video which he later posted on his Twitter account.

While Broad couldn’t control his laughter in the moment, England and Anderson will breathe a major sigh of relief with no serious damage being done to the 36-year-old.

Getting a golf ball strike to your face at that velocity is never a pretty sight for anyone but it has not deterred Anderson off the game judging by his reply to the video posted on Twitter. The fast bowler was given plenty of stick by his mates on social media with England’s famous Barmy Army also joining in on the fun.

The England pacer should thankfully be able to resume the highly touted battle with India’s Virat Kohli at Lord’s when the second Test gets underway on August 9.