Chris Woakes will not play in the final week of The Hundred 2024 as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has withdrawn him from the competition. The decision has been taken by the board to manage his workload ahead of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka.
Chris Woakes was previously expected to play Birmingham Phoenix’s final two group games in The Hundred. However, the Phoenix announced on 12 August that Woakes “will not be available for the remainder of the competition”.
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Ben Stokes’ hamstring injury forces ECB to withdraw Chris Woakes
Recently, England captain Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury while playing for his team, Northern Superchargers, on August 11 (Sunday) night. As a result, Stokes is likely to be ruled out of the Test matches against Sri Lanka, which could mean that Chris Woakes will play as England’s all-rounder. However, the ECB denied that Chris Woakes’ withdrawal from the Hundred has anything to do with Stokes’ injury.
England have several options to replace Stokes in the starting XI. Jordan Cox recently received his first Test match call-up for the England squad and could replace Stokes in the batting order if England opt for an extra batsman.
Another option will be to move wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes to No. 6 and No. 7 respectively and bring in Olly Stone or Matthew Potts at No. 8. With Zak Crawley already out through injury, Dan Lawrence is set to open the batting alongside Ben Duckett.
England bowlers rested during The Hundred 2024
It is worth noting that none of England’s bowlers from the last two Tests against the West Indies have played in the Hundred this season. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir and fast bowler Mark Wood are not part of any squad in the competition.
Meanwhile, another Gus Atkinson, who made his Test debut against West Indies in the first Test, has also not been selected despite being with their Oval Invincibles squad.
Alongside Ben Stokes, fast bowler Dillon Pennington was also injured early in The Hundred 2024. Pennington bowled five balls for his side but was withdrawn due to injury midway through the match. Like Ben Stokes, he also suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out of the season. Pennington is yet to make his Test debut.
England vs Sri Lanka match schedule
England will play a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC). The first Test will be played from August 21 to 25 in Manchester, followed by the second Test from August 29 to September 2 at Lord’s. The final Test of the series will be played from August 21 to 25 in Manchester. From 6th to 10th September at The Oval, London.
England come into the series on the back of a solid performance against the West Indies in July. Thanks to an all-round performance with both bat and ball, England thrashed the West Indies 3-0 at home.
