Published: Aug 07, 2019, 05:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 07, 2019, 05:15 PM (IST)
England‘s fast bowling options have been further depleted with Olly Stone latest to be sidelined due to injury.
Stone, who plays for Warwickshire, has been ruled out for two weeks after injuring his lower left back while training at Edgbaston on Tuesday meaning he’s out of contention for the second Ashes Test.
The 25-year-old made his debut in the one-off Test against Ireland last month after recovering from a stress fracture he suffered during the tour of West Indies earlier this year.
After James Anderson’s calf injury, Stone was one of the prime candidates to replace the veteran pacer for the second Lord’s Test that starts from August 14.
“It’s really disappointing for Olly,” Warwickshire sport director Paul Farbrace said. “To be ruled out of action for such an important two weeks of cricket because of a reoccurrence of his back injury.”
Stone will undergo scan on Wednesday to reveal the extent of the injury.
“At the moment there’s a bit of inflammation, but he will undergo a scan later this afternoon so that we know the full course of treatment that he can undertake with the club’s medical team and with the support of the ECB. In the meantime, he needs to rest up before he can get his body strong again and ready to deal with the demands of being a fast bowler,” Farbrace said.
Fast bowler Mark Wood has already been ruled out of the entire season due to a knee injury and Jofra Archer has been suffering from a side issue. However, Archer has proved his fitness and form after taking six wickets and scoring a century for Sussex second XI against Gloucestershire on Tuesday.
Archer looks all set to make his Test debut at Lord’s.
