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Pace bowler Olly Stone is set to miss at least the first Ashes Test starting from June 16 after suffering a hamstring injury. Stone was forced off the field after pulling up his hamstring while bowling during the Insurance County Championship match against Lancashire. Despite the injury, he managed to walk out for Nottinghamshire and play four balls to help his side draw the game.
Nottinghamshire released a short statement that said Stone would not be in contention for the opening Vitality Blast fixture against Derbyshire on May 26. However, they did not provide any details on the extent of the injury. Notts in the statement said, "We, and England, will be working with Olly to get him returning to cricket in a timely manner without compromising his recovery ahead of a busy summer."
Stone has played three Tests for England, taking 10 wickets in the process and he last played against New Zealand at Edgbaston in Birmingham in June 2021. He has been injury prone since his arrival on the scene with lower back injuries and stress fractures. Stone has also played eight ODIs and one T20I for England. England will now probably play Jofra Archer and James Anderson as the two primary seamers along with Chris Woakes as the third seamer in the much-awaited Ashes series.
