England skipper Ben Stokes was ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury during a match at The Hundred. The Northern Superchargers’ all-rounder pulled out sore while playing against Manchester Originals on Sunday, August 11. He was forced to leave the field and was later seen on crutches.
A recent scan report says that the 33-year-old has torn his left hamstring. With Stokes unable to participate in any games this summer, vice-captain Ollie Pope will take over the leadership duties of England’s Test side. Accordingly, Pope has been removed from London Spirit’s squad for their final match of The Hundred against Northern Superchargers which was held on Tuesday evening.
According to an official statement from the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Stokes is likely to make his return for England’s winter Test tour of Pakistan, with the first Test commencing from October 7 in Multan. Zak Crawley, who is sidelined from the Sri Lanka series due to a finger injury, is also targeting the Pakistan tour for his return.
England haven’t decided to name a replacement for Stokes in the squad for the Sri Lanka series. Jordan Cox is likely to make his test debut and might feature as a specialist batter at No. 6. Additionally, they might change Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes to No. 6 and 7 respectively and might select Matthew Potts or Olly Stone as an additional seam bowler.
Stokes is anticipated to rejoin the England squad in Manchester this weekend and might be with the team for the entirety of the series. Meanwhile, England is hoping that Pope, who was appointed as Stokes’ deputy last year will seize his captaincy with enthusiasm. Furthermore, the 26-year-old’s promotion to No. 3 has been largely proven successful.
Pope has only served as a captain in one first-class match, leading Surrey against Glamorgan in September 2021. He took over the captaincy role in the 2024 Vitality Blast campaign when regular skipper Chris Jordan was away with national duties. In addition, due to Stokes’ absence, he captained England XIs in warm-up matches in the UAE before the 2022 Pakistan tour and in New Zealand at the beginning of 2023.
