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Thursday March 28, 2024

Stokes out of first warm-up match with minor back injury

By Agencies
March 14, 2018

WELLINGTON: The setback isn’t serious enough to put Stokes’s Test return against New Zealand in jeopardy. A minor back injury to England allrounder Ben Stokes has ruled him out of the first two-day warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI in Hamilton, starting from Wednesday (March 14). It is believed that the setback is not serious enough to put his highly-anticipated Test return - against New Zealand next week - in jeopardy. Though Stokes, whose last Test appearance came against Windies in September 2017, is expected to play in the second warm-up game from March 16, he misses the opportunity to play with the pink ball, to be used in the first warm-up game, ahead of the first Test against New Zealand which is also going to be a Day-Night affair.