England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out for the rest of the summer due to a hamstring injury, the England Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday, August 13.
“England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out for the rest of the summer after tearing his left hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on Sunday,” ECB wrote in a statement.
Stokes will miss the remainder of the upcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins on August 21. There are no reinforcements in the squad. In his absence, Ollie Pope will lead the team.
“As a result of tests carried out in Leeds on Tuesday, Stokes will miss England’s three-match Rothesay Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday 21 August. There will be no reinforcements in the squad for this series. England batsman Ollie Pope will captain the side in Ben’s absence,” the board added.
A possible comeback series for the England captain is also mentioned. “The all-rounder is aiming to return for England’s winter Test tour of Pakistan, scheduled to begin in early October. The tour includes three Test matches in Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi,” the statement added.
Ian Bell appointed Sri Lanka batting coach
Meanwhile, former England batsman Ian Bell has been appointed as Sri Lanka’s batting coach for the series against England. “Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former England batsman Ian Bell as the ‘batting coach’ of the national team for the ongoing tour. He will begin working with the team on August 16 and will remain till the conclusion of the three-match Test series,” SLC confirmed in a statement.
Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley De Silva stressed that the appointment is a strategic move to gain local knowledge for the tour of England. “We chose Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key information about the conditions there. Ian has a lot of experience playing in England and we believe his input will help our team on this crucial tour,” said Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.