England Dealt Stone Blow

Warwickshire seamer Olly Stone has been ruled out of England’s next two Ashes Tests after suffering a back injury. The 25-year-old had been in contention to make his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s next week after James Anderson was ruled out with a recurrence of his calf injury.

Stone was expected to rival fellow bowlers Sam Curran and Jofra Archer for a place in the side but has now been ruled out of the next two games at least after suffering an injury to his left lower back during training at Edgbaston on Tuesday. Warwickshire Sports Director Paul Farbrace confirmed the news of Stone’s injury, admitting they will not know the full extent of the damage until he undergoes further scans.

“It’s really disappointing for Olly that he’s been ruled out of action for such an important two weeks of cricket because of a reoccurrence of his back injury,” he said. “At the moment there’s a bit of inflammation but he will undergo a scan later this afternoon so that we know the full course of treatment that he can undertake with the club’s medical team and with the support of the ECB.

“In the meantime, he needs to rest up before he can get his body strong again and ready to deal with the demands of being a fast bowler.” The second Ashes Test will get under way at Lord’s on August 14, with the hosts looking to bounce back following their 251-run defeat in Birmingham last week.