Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the remainder of the English summer after tearing his left hamstring during the Hundred clash between Northern Superchargers and Manchester Originals on Sunday (August 11).
The England men's Test captain will miss the entirety of the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, which begins on Wednesday, August 21 at Old Trafford. Vice-captain Ollie Pope will captain the side in Stokes' absence. Stokes will aim to return to action on England's tour to Pakistan in October.
Stokes went down while completing a run in the Superchargers' chase on Sunday evening, and immediately clutched the back of his left leg. He was supported off the field by two members of the Superchargers backroom staff, and was seen on crutches later in the match.
Scans conducted on Tuesday (August 13) confirmed that the injury was a tear to his hamstring.
How will England replace Ben Stokes?
England haven't named a replacement in the squad for Stokes, and are already depleted by the absence of Zak Crawley, who broke his finger during England's series against West Indies. Dan Lawrence is set to open the batting in Crawley's absence, but it is less clear how England will replace Stokes in the XI, given his all-rounder status. Jordan Cox, uncapped in international cricket, is the spare batter in the squad, while Chris Woakes is an option to bat at No.7, with Jamie Smith pushing up to No.6.
Another option open to England, given Lawrence's inclusion, is to leave out Shoaib Bashir, play four frontline quicks, and rely on the part-time off-spin of the makeshift opener and of Joe Root to fill out the attack.
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