Ben Stokes suffers a serious injury and is carried off the field by a teammate – watch

England Test captain Ben Stokes was taken off the field on Sunday while playing for Hundred side Northern Superchargers. The versatile Stokes, 33, suffered an apparent hamstring injury in the match in Manchester and was accompanied to the stands by two members of the Superchargers squad. He grabbed the back of his left leg as he felt pain on the ground after hitting a quick single. England begin the first of their three-match Test series with Sri Lanka on August 21 at the same Old Trafford ground.

Meanwhile, England forward Zak Crawley has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka due to a broken finger.

Crawley was ruled out after fracturing the little finger on his right hand while trying to catch a ball during the recent third Test victory over the West Indies.

The 26-year-old will turn his attention to preparing for England’s tour of Pakistan in October.

Ben Stokes had to be taken off the field after suffering an injury playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred

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– England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) August 11, 2024

With Crawley sidelined, Dan Lawrence is set to debut alongside Ben Duckett.

Lawrence has been included in several England squads but has not played a Test since 2022.

The 27-year-old moved from Essex to Surrey over the winter and has made an impressive start to the County Championship season, averaging 53.09 and a strike rate of 74.68 with two centuries and three fifties .

England have made a number of changes to their squad ahead of the West Indies series, handing Test debuts to Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith, and now there is a first call-up for Essex batsman Jordan Cox.

The 23-year-old has already been involved in the England squad, after joining Pakistan’s 2022 white-ball tour, and will look to make his international debut against Sri Lanka.

Unreleased seamer Dillon Pennington, who was in the squad for the 3-0 win over the West Indies, joins Crawley on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.

Pennington is likely to be sidelined for the rest of the English summer.

Nottinghamshire seam bowler Olly Stone returns to the Test squad for the first time since 2021 and hopes to add to his three Test matches.

The first Test against Sri Lanka begins at Old Trafford on August 21, with the second match at Lord’s and the third at The Oval.

England squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka:

Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

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