England vs Sri Lanka: Ben Stokes ruled out of series as Chris Woakes stakes claim for recall
England all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the remaining two matches of the Test series against Sri Lanka and may require surgery to correct a long-standing knee injury. The Durham man aggravated a long-term problem on day two of the first match at Headingley and though he returned to bowl was forced to leave the field the following day.
Stokes was initially only expected to be absent for the second Test on his home ground at Chester-le-Street starting on Friday [27 May] but it has now emerged he will also miss the subsequent third game at Lord's which begins on 9 June. With the 24-year-old potentially having to go under the knife to correct the issue which has been hindering him for the last three years, he could miss the four-match one-day series against Sri Lanka starting next month.
"Devastated to be missing the rest of the series, this has been an ongoing issue for two/three years which I've managed to play through until now," he wrote on Twitter. "All the best to the lads in the rest of the series, see you down at Durham in the crowd."
Warwickshire's Chris Woakes has been called into an otherwise unchanged England squad for the match in the north-east and will link up with the team, who won the first Test inside three days by an innings and 88 runs, off the back of taking nine wickets in the County Championship match against Durham in Birmingham. The 27-year-old finished with figures of 9 for 36 as the visitors were dismissed for just 190. He then opened the innings and made just four off three balls before he was bowled by Graham Onions.
Woakes an endured an inauspicious Test career to date, taking just eight wickets in six matches. His last outings came in the fourth Test against South Africa at Centurion where he finished with figures of 1 for 144. Uncapped Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball will make his first international appearance if Woakes is overlooked, after missing out in Leeds.
Waokes said of his brilliant bowling spell: "I wouldn't say I felt in great rhythm with the new ball but after lunch I got the wicket of Mark Stoneman and after that felt really good – as good as I have all year," according to ESPN Cricinfo. "It's amazing when you are in rhythm like that you don't really think about anything. I'm not sure I have ever bowled as well as that. England was obviously in the back of my mind and going into the game you do feel a little bit of added pressure to prove yourself but I am always desperate to do well in a Warwickshire shirt."
Sri Lanka meanwhile have lost a second bowler for duration of the tour after Dushmantha Chameera returned home after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back. The 24-year-old took three wickets at Headingley, including that of man-of-the-match Jonny Bairstow, but will be unavailable to the tourists. He joins Dhammika Prasad on the sidelines after he withdraw with a shoulder problem.
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