The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Paceman Stone ruled out of second Test
England bowler sidelined by back injury
England pace bowler Olly Stone will miss the second Ashes Test after being ruled out for at least a fortnight with a back injury.
Stone, who suffered the injury in training on Tuesday, joins fellow pacemen James Anderson and Mark Wood in being ruled out of the Lord’s Test, which starts next Wednesday.
Warwickshire sport director Paul Farbrace said: “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.
“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.”
Stone, 25, made his Test debut against Ireland last month and was in the squad for the first Test at his home ground Edgbaston, but did not play in the heavy defeat by Australia.
He would have been back in contention at Lord’s, with Anderson ruled out until at least the fourth Test.
The third Ashes Test at Headingley begins on August 22, making Stone’s availability for that match highly unlikely.
Jofra Archer, another fast bowler with fitness issues, took six wickets and hit a century for Sussex’s second XI on Tuesday to press his case for an Ashes spot.
Meanwhile, Travis Head says Australia’s bowlers will be aiming to maintain the upper hand in the Ashes series by keeping England’s batsmen quiet and boundaries to a minimum.
The tourists drew first blood in the five-Test Specsavers series as they prevailed by a sizeable 251 runs at Edgbaston.
While England were seeking to bat for the draw, Head feels the tactic of bowling dry built up pressure and allowed Australia’s four-man front-line attack to seize the initiative - a tactic they will look to repeat.
Head said: “We don’t mind going for wickets but we’ve got to make sure we’re consolidating and keeping the scoreboard quiet. We know that if we can do that there will be enough balls in the right area and enough balls to create an opportunity.”