Follow UsThe England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have told Chris Woakes not to play in the final week of The Hundred. The decision was made to manage his workload ahead of the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting August 21.
The fast-bowling all-rounder was expected to feature in Birmingham Phoenix's last two group-stage games against Trent Rockets on August 12 and Manchester Originals on August 15 at Edgbaston. The Phoenix made the announcement after England Test captain Ben Stokes injured his hamstring playing for Northern Superchargers and is now in serious doubt for the first Test in Manchester.
Stokes opened the batting for the Superchargers but had to retire hurt after the 12th ball of the chase after pulling his hamstring while taking off for a quick single. Stokes was at the non-strikers’ end when he took off for a single after the batter at the other end, Oliver Robinson, misconnected an attempted scoop.
The left-hander made it to the other end but went down immediately after reaching the crease. Stokes was in visible pain and had to be helped off the field by the support staff. He was later seen in crutches in the dugout. In the aftermath of the match, Superchargers’ skipper Harry Brook admitted that Stokes’ injury ‘‘was not looking good’.
Stokes is expected to undergo a scan on his hamstring on Tuesday. If he is ruled out, Woakes will be the only fast-bowling all-rounder in the England Test set-up. Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir and Mark Wood, who all featured in the series against West Indies, haven’t played in The Hundred this year.
England have already lost opener Zak Crawley due to a finger injury. Dan Lawrence is expected to open the batting in his absence. If Stokes is not available, uncapped Jordan Cox could make his debut and bat at No.6. But if England decide to replace Stokes with a frontline seamer, Jamie Smith and Woakes will have to bat at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively.
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