The decree follows opener Rory Burns having his tour ended after injuring his ankle ligaments during a warm-up kickabout, one day before England’s second Test against South Africa at Cape Town.

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Jonny Bairstow is another to have been ruled out of England action by a football injury, missing the start of England’s 2018 Test series against Sri Lanka with a twisted ankle, while Ollie Pope was lucky to avoid a similar fate after getting clattered by Matt Parkinson the day before the Burns injury.

[caption id=”attachment_133569″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Rory Burns has been ruled out of England’s Test series against South Africa with a football injury[/caption]

Ashely Giles, the ECB’s director of cricket, has long made his displeasure of the beautiful game clear. “If you look at what football does, the benefits from a psychological and fun point of view are outstripped by the dangers from it,” he said when taking up his current role.

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The ECB have reportedly denied they have disallowed all counties from warming up by playing football, saying that’s a decision for the counties themselves to make. They are yet to name a replacement for Burns in the squad.

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