England opener Crawley out of Sri Lanka test series with injury

Crawley, 26, picked up the problem during England’s third test win over the West Indies last month as Seamer Dillon Pennington will also be out with a hamstring injury.

England’s Zak Crawley reacts after losing his wicket, caught out by West Indies’ Jason Holder off the bowling of Jayden Seales. | Photo Credit: Action Images via Reuters

England will be without opening batter Zak Crawley for its three-match test series against Sri Lanka after he fractured his right little finger, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Sunday as they announced their 14-member squad.

Crawley, 26, picked up the problem during England’s third test win over the West Indies last month. Seamer Dillon Pennington will also be out with a hamstring injury.

Middle-order batter Jordan Cox has received a first call-up to the test squad. The 23-year-old had previously toured Pakistan with the white-ball squad in 2022.

Seamer Olly Stone will also return to the test squad for the first time since June 2021.

Captained by Ben Stokes, England will host Sri Lanka at Old Trafford for the first test starting August 21.

ENGLAND TEST SQUAD:

Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.