Ben Stokes, the captain of England, is doubtful for his team’s three-match Test series against Sri Lanka since he appeared in a domestic match on Sunday and may have injured his hamstring.
The 33-year-old all-rounder is doubtful for the opening Test against Sri Lanka, which starts in Manchester on August 21, according to colleague Harry Brook. The England captain is scheduled to undergo scans on the injured area on Monday to determine the degree of the ailment.
Brook told Sky Sports, as cited by ICC, “It doesn’t look great unfortunately, but I think he’ll be getting a scan tomorrow and see how he is.”
In the event that Stokes is ruled out of the opening Test match against Sri Lanka, vice captain Ollie Pope may take over for England, who will be looking to win the series at home in order to gain more points toward qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship final the following year.
According to the ICC, Stokes was taken off the field during England’s The Hundred competition between the Northern Superchargers and the Manchester Originals at Old Trafford after he pulled up sore while trying a quick single. Later, he made an appearance on crutches and went back to the team dugout to watch the Superchargers defeat their fellow northern opponent by a slim margin of seven wickets.
England is eager to continue its current success against Sri Lanka after sweeping the West Indies 3-0 to take sixth spot in the World Test Championship rankings.
Following injuries that limited his use of the ball during the Ashes series against Australia last year and the away series against India earlier this year, Stokes made a triumphant return to the bowling crease during the West Indies series.
Later in October, England will visit Pakistan for a three-match series against Shan Masood’s team, having just finished three Test matches against Sri Lanka.The following players will represent England against Sri Lanka: Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood.”
