LONDON: England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn hamstring and will miss the Test series against Sri Lanka, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Tuesday. “England Men’s Test Captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out for the rest of the summer after tearing his left hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on Sunday,” said an ECB statement.

The 33-year-old all-rounder will be replaced as Test skipper by vice-captain Ollie Pope, the ECB added. The first Test against Sri Lanka begins on August 21 at Old Trafford. “As a result of the scans conducted in Leeds on Tuesday, Stokes will miss England’s three-match Test series against Sri Lanka,” aid the ECB.

“The all-rounder is aiming to return for England’s winter Test tour of Pakistan, scheduled to start in early October.” No replacement player has been added to the England squad for the Sri Lanka series announced on August 4.

Stokes had knee surgery in November and then ruled himself out of England’s T20 World Cup title defence in the Caribbean and the United States earlier this year to ensure he could be fit to play a role as a fully-fledged all-rounder in the Test side.

He scored 192 runs at an average of 48 and took five wickets with his lively medium-pace bowling during a 3-0 series whitewash of the West Indies — the first half of England’s home Test programme this season.

Stokes looked well on his way to full fitness before suffering the injury against Manchester Originals at Old Trafford, where he was later seen on crutches. Stokes’ injury provoked a fresh round of social media criticism of the Hundred, the ECB’s controversial 100-balls-per-side tournament, that features eight specially created teams rather than the traditional 18 first-class counties.

England players are routinely withdrawn by the ECB from the first-class County Championship or domestic limited-overs tournaments such as the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup to protect their fitness for international duty.

Stokes, however, was cleared to play in the Hundred, despite pulling out of the T20 World Cup. His absence is a fresh injury blow for England, with opening batsman Zak Crawley already ruled out of the Sri Lanka series because of a broken finger sustained while fielding against the West Indies.

Uncapped paceman Dillon Pennington has been sidelined after also suffering a hamstring injury while in action for Northern Superchargers. Sri Lanka will have one warm-up match, a four-day fixture against the second-string England Lions in Worcester starting Wednesday, before the first Test. — AFP