Cricket Allrounder Woakes Withdrawn from Remaining Hundred Matches
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has pulled Chris Woakes out of the final week of the 100-ball cricket competition, The Hundred, citing the “management of his workload” ahead of England’s upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
Woakes, who plays for the Birmingham Phoenix, was initially scheduled to feature in the team’s final two group-stage matches against Trent Rockets and Manchester Originals, both to be held at Edgbaston. However, the Phoenix have now announced that the experienced all-rounder has been made “unavailable for the remainder of the competition.”
The ECB has clarified that Woakes’ withdrawal is not connected to the hamstring injury suffered by England Test captain Ben Stokes while playing for the Northern Superchargers on Sunday. The decision to rest Woakes was made prior to Stokes’ setback.
Nevertheless, if Stokes is ruled out of the Sri Lanka series as expected, Woakes’ role as England’s premier all-rounder is likely to become even more crucial.
Stokes is scheduled to undergo a scan on his hamstring on Tuesday, after hobbling off the field and retiring hurt during the Superchargers’ victory over Manchester Originals. Team captain Harry Brook acknowledged that the injury “doesn’t look great” ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka, which is set to commence on August 21 in Manchester.
In Stokes’ potential absence, England have the uncapped Jordan Cox as an extra batting option, while Dan Lawrence is expected to replace the injured Zak Crawley at the top of the order. Alternatively, Jamie Smith and Woakes could shuffle up the order, with either Matthew Potts or Olly Stone taking Stokes’ spot in the lineup.
Interestingly, none of England’s frontline bowlers from their recent Test series against West Indies have participated in The Hundred this year. Gus Atkinson has been with the Oval Invincibles squad but has not been selected, while neither Shoaib Bashir nor Mark Wood have deals in the competition. Bashir has featured just once for Somerset in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, while Wood has been absent from Durham’s lineup.
Meanwhile, former England batter Ian Bell is set to join Sri Lanka’s coaching staff for their upcoming series against the hosts. Bell has been working closely with Smith at the Birmingham Phoenix during The Hundred, with the young player acknowledging that “he’s reminded me a few times that he’s going to be in the opposite camp in this series.”
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