Allrounder was due to play Birmingham Phoenix’s final two group games but has been withdrawn
Chris Woakes impressed against West Indies after a slow start to the series • Darren Staples/ECB via Getty Images
The ECB have pulled Chris Woakes out of the final week of the Hundred “due to the management of his workload” ahead of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka next week.
Woakes was initially expected to play Birmingham Phoenix’s final two group-stage matches in the Hundred, against Trent Rockets (Monday) and Manchester Originals (Thursday), both at Edgbaston. But the Phoenix announced on Monday that he had been made “unavailable for the remainder of the competition”.
England denied that Woakes’ withdrawal from the Hundred is linked to the hamstring injury that Ben Stokes, their Test captain, suffered while playing for Northern Superchargers on Sunday night, indicating that the decision had been made before that match. But if Stokes is ruled out of the Sri Lanka series as anticipated, Woakes is likely to play a greater role as England’s main allrounder.
Stokes is due to undergo a scan on his hamstring on Tuesday after limping off the field and retiring hurt during the Superchargers’ win over Manchester Originals on Sunday night. He ended the night on crutches and Harry Brook, the Superchargers’ captain, said that the injury “doesn’t look great” ahead of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka, which starts in Manchester on August 21.
The uncapped Jordan Cox is England’s spare batter, with Dan Lawrence set to replace the injured Zak Crawley at the top of the order, and could replace Stokes at No. 6 if they opt to pick only four main bowling options. Alternatively, Jamie Smith and Woakes could shuffle up to No. 6 and 7 respectively, with Matthew Potts or Olly Stone replacing Stokes and batting at No. 8.
None of England’s frontline bowlers from their final two Tests against West Indies have played in the Hundred this year. Gus Atkinson has been with the Oval Invincibles squad but has not been selected, while neither Shoaib Bashir nor Mark Wood has a deal in the competition. Bashir has only been selected once by Somerset in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, while Wood has not featured for Durham.
Stokes is not the only England player who has been injured playing in the Hundred this year. Dillon Pennington, an unused member of the Test squad against West Indies, bowled five balls for Northern Superchargers in their win against Oval Invnicibles then pulled up with a hamstring injury which has ruled him out for the season.
Meanwhile, Ian Bell is due to link up with Sri Lanka as part of their coaching staff during their series against England. Bell has been working closely with Smith during the Hundred at Birmingham Phoenix: “He’s reminded me a few times that he’s going to be in the opposite camp in this series,” Smith told Sky Sports ahead of Monday night’s game.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
