England have received a body blow ahead of the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley as Ollie Pope will miss the remaining series. The England Cricket Board (ECB) announced via their official website that the right-handed batter dislocated his right shoulder during the second Test at the Lord's Cricket Ground last week.
Pope put in a dive during Australia's second innings and held his shoulder for a while. As he headed for the dressing room, the umpires warned that England have to field with ten men if Pope went off the pitch. Speaking at a press conference, England's spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel admitted they were confused over such a command as it's a tough situation when players bust their shoulder.
Meanwhile, the Surrey batter underwent scans on Monday that revealed the full extent of his injury and ruling him out of the remaining three Tests. The 25-year-old will now closely work with the national and Surrey medical teams to plot his recovery. Nevertheless, England have not announced a replacement for the third Test at Headingley, starting on July 6th.
Dan Lawrence likely to come into England's playing XI at Headingley:
With England having only one spare batter in the Test side in Dan Lawrence, he is in line to replace Pope at Headingley. The Essex batter has so far featured in 11 Tests and managed 551 runs at 29 with four half-centuries.
Lawrence has also batted at No. 3 in four of his 21 innings, but averages only 13.25 in that position. Should he be selected, it will be the 25-year-old's first Ashes Test. Australia lead the five-Test series by 2-0. They won the first match at Edgbaston by 2 wickets and picked up a 43-run victory at Lord's.
