Stokes Misses the Test Series against Sri Lanka Due to a Hamstring Injury

After passing a failed mission in the T20 World Cup, both England and Sri Lanka are looking to recover from the damage and restore their performance. A few days back, Sri Lanka secured an ODI series win against India after a 3-0 series defeat in the T20 series against the same opponent. When Sri Lanka is highly motivated to bring their best in the coming series, England has bad news before starting the series on the 21st of August as Ben Stokes, the captain of England, misses the test series and the whole summer and cannot return before October.

It is mentionable that England has just completed a successful series against West Indies where they won it by 3-0 and Ben Stokes, their captain, led them from the front with five wickets and 192 runs in the series.

How Severe is Ben’s Injury?

Verified sources reported that Ben Stoke suffered a hamstring tear while playing for Northern Supercharges in the Hundred Tournament at Old Trafford against Manchester Originals. It is improbable that he will be fit to play before this October; therefore, England will participate in the tournament without Ben Stokes. Considering the severity of this thirty-three-year-old’s injury, the focus is on the earliest possible recovery of this legendary cricketer.

A surgery on the left knee of this player is the primary task to be completed. If everything goes fine, he can expect to return on October 7, 2024, in the series against Pakistan. However, according to the doctors, this can still restrict him from executing his bowling ability.

Potential Impact on the Series against Sri Lanka

Before going into the detailed discussion, it is probably redundant yet essential to remind the readers how important Ben Stokes is for the England cricket team, considering his contribution to this team. Despite being one of the strongest sides, England couldn’t win any ODI World Cup before 2019, which was a great regret for them, and Stokes is the one person who made a dream come true for English with his incredible mental strength and talent.

A cricket fan can’t forget how he fought in crucial time. This allrounder can indeed be performed in each format. While having a prosperous career in the shorter version, his brilliance in Test cricket is nothing less. In 190 innings, he has scored 6508 runs with an average of 35.75. Besides, in 152 innings, he has trapped and achieved 203 wickets with the expense of 6506 runs. In many matches, he single-handedly managed and finished the game for England. Besides, his experience and captaincy are something England always needs.

So, the absence of such a captain and a talented allrounder will affect England in this home series against Sri Lanka.

Schedule of the Eng vs SL Test Series

Despite being a home series against England, the chances are high for Sri Lanka, considering the excellent bowling attack and England’s weakness against spin bowling. And the addition of Ben Stokes’ absence will be crucial at this stage.

1. First Test

• Date: 21^st August, 2024
• Venue: Old Trafford Cricket Ground

2. Second Test

• Date: 29^th August, 2024
• Venue: Lord’s

3. Third Test

• Date: 6^th September, 2024
• Venue: Oval

Who is Going to Replace Ben Stokes?

Here comes the most critical question: Who is ready to take responsibility? England announced their squad on 4 August, with Ben included as a captain, and no backup plan was considered for any such event.

However, England still had some options, and finally, they selected Ollie Pope as the captain of the three-test match series against Sri Lanka. This twenty-six-year-old cricket is a regular face of Surrey County Cricket Club and has the experience to captain in shorter version cricket. Besides being a dependable batter, he is also a wicketkeeper to support the team when necessary. The question is, is he enough to make people forget about Ben?

When Pope was a wicketkeeper batter, Ben was the one who could contribute with both bat and ball. While Pope can be a hope for the batting lineup, the need for a bowler like Ben will still be felt, and thus, not one but two people will be needed to suffice Ben Stokes adequately.

However, there are also positive things about this cricket. Ben was appreciated because of his ability to think independently and make decisions not based on textbook formulas but on situations and experiences. Jamie Smith has already said that the Pope is like Ben, as both are independent thinkers! However, it is also important to remember that Pope has no captaincy experience in the Test format, as he has previously captained only in T20 cricket.

However, as a batter, he is undoubtedly someone England can trust. In 46 matches, he scored 2690 runs with an average of 35.39, which is very close to Ben. He has six hundred and thirteen fifties in this format for England. When this is a commendable statistic to bat for England, his experience as a captain is undoubtedly a big concern for England. Yet, many experts have already opined that Ollie has the required “captain material” in him. It is also true that crises bring new leaders, and if Ollie can lead England well enough, then this team will get a new leader in the coming days.

What Sri Lanka can Expect from This Series

As already said, bowling is the biggest strength for Sri Lanka as they have some talented bowlers in the squad who are in lethal form. While Asalanka led them in the T20 and ODI series, Dhananjaya De Silva, the experienced campaigner, will lead them this time. Though the prime concern for Sri Lanka is undoubtedly focusing on its performance, the absence of Ben Stokes may slightly help them to set their strategies.

Some Final Thoughts

Injury is a part of every athlete’s career. For a person like Ben Stokes, who is an extremely hard worker and involved in both batting and bowling at the age of thirty-three, the chances of getting injured increase. For Ben’s unfortunate injury, the necessity of tournaments like Hundred is now being questioned.

While it’s a challenge for England to perform their best without Ben, this is also an opportunity for Ollie to win the series with his batting ability and creative captaincy to mark himself in the “probable list of next captains”!