Picture Credit: Twitter/@englandcricket
It hasn't been an ideal start to the preparation for New Zealand Tests for the England cricket team. While their star player Jofra Archer was not available for selection owing to an injury, their IPL bound players were also not rushed into playing red-ball cricket. Now, a news is coming in that wicketkeeper batsman Ben Foakes has been ruled out of the two-match Test series after picking up an injury.
Notably, it has been confirmed that Foakes sustained a torn hamstring after slipping in his socks in a dressing room accident. Meanwhile, Sam Billings and Haseeb Hameed have been added to England squad in his place. While Billings is uncapped at the Test match level, Hameed played three matches on England’s tour of India back in 2016.
Foakes was looking forward to his home England debut
Earlier, Foakes had gone on record suggesting that he was looking forward to make his home debut for the Three Lions after as many as eight appearances abroad. He had also recognised that opportunities at the highest level could be few with gaps in between.
"You can preoccupy with the external stuff that's not in your control," he was quoted as saying by London's Evening Standard.
"I am not wondering how many games I might get. I just want to get picked, and treat it for what it is - a game. I'm not worried about any add-ons. I would like to get runs and catch well, but I wouldn't say I'm trying to put reminders in peoples' minds or anything like that. I'm just trying to do well," he added.