England Test spinner Tom Hartley has been ruled out of England Lions tour of Australia after sustaining a fractured hand during training in Brisbane on Thursday (January 9).
The Lancashire left-arm spinner will return to the UK for treatment, with no replacement set to travel to Australia. Hartley was set to be part of the Lions squad across the series, which will feature two four-day matches against a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane, followed by a first-class game against Australia A in Sydney.
The injury is a significant blow to Hartley in his bid to regain his place in England's senior red-ball side. Hartley played all five of England's Tests on their tour of India last year, taking 22 wickets as part of a young spin trio alongside Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed. His best performance was a match-winning 7-62 on debut in Hyderabad.
However, he has not featured in a Test match since the final match of that series in Dharamsala. Bashir has claimed the spot as England's first-choice Test spinner, with Jack Leach and Rehan selected as the rest of the spin attack for their series in Pakistan in October. Both Hartley and Bashir were selected for the Lions series, with England looking to gain more knowledge on their spin options with an eye to the Ashes series later this year.
Curious about the five teenagers selected in the England Lions squad for the tour game against Sri Lanka? 🤔
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 9, 2024
Read more about them here ➡️ https://t.co/mE06ay5qTF pic.twitter.com/ulGHPZg3YK
The Lions series will be overseen by head coach Andrew Flintoff, with Graeme Swann also among the coaching staff for the tour. The 16-man playing group also features Josh Tongue, who earned his debut Test cap in 2023 before spending a year on the sidelines with injury, as well as fast-bowler John Turner. The youngest face in the group is 16-year-old Rocky Flintoff, son of head coach Andrew, who made his first-class debut for Lancashire last year, and impressed for England Young Lions over the last year.
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