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England's Test skipper Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the home summer following a hamstring injury. The ace all-rounder tore his hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers against Manchester Originals in The Hundred on Sunday, August 11.
Stokes was carried off the field and has subsequently been ruled out of the remainder of the summer season, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
Despite Stokes' absence, the ECB has decided not to announce any replacement for the Sri Lanka series, starting August 21 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
"England Men's Test Captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out for the rest of the summer after tearing his left hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on Sunday," the ECB said in a statement via ESPNCricinfo.
"As a result of the scans conducted in Leeds on Tuesday, Stokes will miss England's three-match Rothesay Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday, 21 August. There will be no addition to the squad for this series," it added.
Fans were unhappy with the news of Stokes missing the upcoming summer. They slammed the ECB and its brainchild 'The Hundred' for hurting the cause of England's Test side.
Here are some reactions:
"I see #BenStokes is out of the Sumner @englandcricket test series now. Once again, we must ask why are we bothering with #TheHundred cricket format? There is already too much cricket and making players play more nonsense formats is bad for the game. Just stop it," another fan chimed in.
"Ben Stokes out for the summer after playing in the pantomime hundred. Ffs," a fan continued slamming The Hundred.
"Ben Stokes out of the Test series because he played in The Hundred Wow! Played a blinder with the schedule ECB_cricket absolute shambles," another fan wrote.
Ollie Pope to lead England Test team in Ben Stokes' absence
Senior batter Ollie Pope will lead the England cricket team in the absence of Ben Stokes. Pope has been Stokes' deputy in the last 12 months and will hope to deliver the goods in the upcoming series.
The Surrey cricketer has very limited leadership experience, captaining Surrey only once in first-class cricket. He has also captained the England XI in a couple of warm-up matches whenever Stokes opted out.
