London :
England captain Ben Stokes is in doubt for his side’s three-match Test series against Sri Lanka after he suffered a suspected hamstring injury while playing in a domestic match on Sunday. Stokes pulled up sore when attempting a quick single while playing for the Northern Superchargers against the Manchester Originals in England’s The Hundred competition at Old Trafford and was forced to leave the field, as per the ICC. He appeared later on crutches, before returning to the team dugout to watch the Superchargers record a narrow seven-wicket victory over their fellow northern rival.
The England skipper is set to have scans on the affected area on Monday to confirm the extent of the injury, but the 33-year-old all-rounder is considered doubtful for the opening Test against Sri Lanka that commences in Manchester on 21 August according to teammate Harry Brook.
“It doesn’t look great unfortunately but I think he’ll be getting a scan tomorrow and see how he is,” Brook told Sky Sports as quoted by ICC.
Should Stokes be ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka it could pave the way for vice-captain Ollie Pope to lead England, who will be targeting the series on home soil to collect more points in their quest to qualify for next year’s ICC World Test Championship final.
England recently recorded a 3-0 series sweep of the West Indies to move up to sixth place on the World Test Championship standings and will be keen to keep that momentum going against Sri Lanka.
Stokes had made a successful return to the bowling crease during that West Indies series after injuries robbed the star all-rounder’s usage with the ball during last year’s Ashes series against Australia and the away series with India earlier this year.
Following three Tests against Sri Lanka, England are scheduled to travel to Pakistan in October for a three-match series against Shan Masood’s side.
England squad to face Sri Lanka: Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Series schedule:
First Test: Old Trafford, August 21-25
Second Test: Lord’s, August 29-September 2
Third Test: The Oval, September 6-10.
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