Jofra Archer out of the remainder of the Ashes as he is diagnosed with a side strain on his left side of the torso.
As England’s frantic Ashes campaign continues to deteriorate, Jofra Archer has been ruled out of their next two Test matches in Australia due to a side injury. For the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Gus Atkinson will take Archer’s six wickets from Australia’s 82-run victory in Adelaide, while Jacob Bethell will replace Ollie Pope at No. 3 in England’s other change.
After being out of the format for more than four years owing to elbow and back ailments, Archer returned to the Test in July. With nine wickets and helpful lower-order runs, he has been perhaps England’s player of the series in Australia. Ben Stokes, his captain, commended him on Tuesday for his “exceptional” efforts with the ball.
Following a light workload in the Adelaide Test’s second innings, he was sent for a scan in Melbourne on Tuesday. He will return to the UK the following week for an evaluation. With both Matthew Potts and Matthew Fisher ready for the last Test, England is now optimistic that Archer will be fit for the T20 World Cup in February and do not intend to bring up a replacement.
Despite Stokes’s assurance that he is still England’s top spinner, Shoaib Bashir has been left out for the fourth straight Test, and Atkinson is expected to split the new ball with Brydon Carse.
Pope has been dropped for the second Ashes tour in a row after failing to reach a half-century against Australia in 16 innings. In Stokes’ absence, he led England during the conclusion of their home series against India earlier this year. However, he was replaced as vice-captain prior to this series and has only amassed 125 runs at an average of 20.83 in his six innings.
His substitute, Bethell, will receive his fifth cap on Boxing Day after making his Test debut in New Zealand last year. Although he hasn’t scored a first-class century and only made one appearance for Warwickshire in the County Championship last summer, he has established himself as a regular in England’s white-ball sides and led them in their T20I series against Ireland in September.
Ben Duckett, on the other hand, has been kept on after failing to reach 30 in his opening Ashes series innings and an ECB investigation into his behaviour following the social media virality of a video that seemed to show him intoxicated and confused of how to get back to his hotel. Duckett has the “complete support” of Stokes.
With Pat Cummins (back rehabilitation) and Nathan Lyon (torn hamstring) sidelined, Australia is expected to make at least three changes. Steven Smith will captain the team while he recovers from illness.