England captain Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury on the third day of the final Test match against New Zealand in Hamilton.
The injury occurred when Stokes stopped midway through an over while bowling to New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra at Seddon Park.
The 33-year-old immediately grabbed his seemingly uncomfortable left hamstring and walked off the field to receive medical treatment.
This is the same hamstring that Stokes injured during The Hundred in August, which previously forced him to miss England’s ICC World Test Championship opening contest against Pakistan in Multan in early October.
With the captain gone, England’s Jacob Bethell stepped in to complete the remainder of the game, with Ollie Pope taking over captaincy duties in Stokes’ absence.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released a statement confirming that Stokes would not return to the field in the current innings.
“England captain Ben Stokes is currently receiving treatment for a left hamstring problem. He will not return to the field this innings and will undergo further assessment to determine his availability to bat in England’s second innings,” the ECB said.
Fortunately, England’s next international game is over a month away, which could give Stokes plenty of time to recover.
England’s next set of games involves an eight-match white-ball series, including five T20Is and three ODIs against India, starting from January 23.
In the ongoing three-match Test series, England, having won the first two matches, have a mammoth target of 658 runs to complete a 3-0 series win over New Zealand.
New Zealand were bowled out for 453 in their second innings following England’s dismal first innings total of just 143 runs after New Zealand had posted 347.
Kane Williamson was the standout performer for the hosts, scoring 156 runs, with solid support from Will Young and Daryl Mitchell, who each contributed 60 runs.
Mitchell Santner contributed 49 runs while Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell added 44 runs each.
