Anderson has stitches after freak accident

England paceman James Anderson needed two stitches on his cheek after he suffered an injury while fooling around with team mate Graeme Swann, he said on his Twitter account.

"Really excited about today. The 2 stitches in my cheek, given to me by a so called friend, r coming out! Can't get rid of black eyes as easily," the 28-year-old tweeted before England took on Sri Lanka in their World Cup quarter-final match.

Anderson has been expensive for England with the ball and was not picked for today's match in Colombo.

"You may see a slight scar on the side of my face in pictures this week," the bowler wrote in the Daily Mirror newspaper.

"Rest assured no one has hit me while batting - that is still as good as ever!

"It was just a little accident caused by one of Swanny's clumsier moments during some horseplay.

"He looked horrified when he did it, but now he's jealous because men with scars look cool!"