Injured Stokes doubtful for upcoming ODIs

LEEDS: Ben Stokes is also in doubt for England’s upcoming limited-overs matches after being diagnosed with a torn hamstring.

Stokes, who was replaced in England’s team for the second Test by 19-year old allrounder Sam Curran, was sent for a scan on Thursday afternoon that revealed the tear in his left hamstring. While the severity of the tear won’t be completely clear for a couple of days - he is likely to have another scan next week - the early signs from the England camp is that it is not a minor tear and he could be out of action for several weeks.

England’s limited-overs season starts with an ODI against Scotland in Edinburgh on June 10. A five-match ODI series against Australia then begins on June 13. Stokes sustained the injury during fielding practice on Wednesday afternoon.

While he batted in the nets on Thursday, he did not bowl and he limited his role in pre-match warm-ups on Friday morning to referring the squad’s football match. He was also put through a series of sprints on Thursday to assess his fitness.

Curran, aged 19 years and 363 days, is the seventh youngest man to make his Test debut for England. He is also the third man aged 20 or under to make his Test debut for England this year.

Mason Crane and Dom Bess, both aged 20, made their Test debuts in Sydney and Lord’s respectively while Haseeb Hameed, aged 19 years and 297 days, made his debut in India. Curran’s brother, Tom, played the last two on England’s Ashes tour.