Stokes out of third Test against Pakistan

LONDON: England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled of next week´s third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston with a torn right calf, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday.

Durham paceman Stokes suffered the injury midway through bowling his sixth over on the fourth day of the second Test at Old Trafford on Monday, when England completed a 330-run win to level the four-match series at 1-1.

A scan revealed the extent of Stokes´s injury and the 25-year-old´s fitness will be reviewed by the England medical team next week, with the squad assembling in Birmingham on Monday.

In addition to the remaining 10 fit players who featured at Old Trafford, England have selected Nottinghamshire paceman Jake Ball, who made his Test debut in a 75-run defeat by Pakistan in the series opener at Lord´s.

Also in a 13-man squad is Middlesex fast bowler Steven Finn, who also played in that match, and Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

The third Test starts on Wednesday, August 3.

England third Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, captain), Alex Hale  (Nottinghamshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), James Vince (Hampshire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wkt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)