Cricket
Matt Roller 3y

Jonny Bairstow ankle scans clear but batter doubtful for first Sri Lanka T20I

Sri Lanka in England 2021, Cricket

Jonny Bairstow has linked up with England's white-ball squads in Cardiff as scheduled after a scan cleared him of a serious ankle injury.

Bairstow suffered the injury while batting for Yorkshire on Wednesday night against Worcestershire, pulling up after running a single. He continued his innings with a runner, making 112 off 51 balls, but did not take the field, left the ground wearing a moon boot and left his coach, Andrew Gale, fearing he might have suffered ligament damage.

But after undergoing a scan on Thursday, Bairstow has been cleared of serious injury, and travelled to Cardiff on Saturday as planned with the rest of the T20I squad ahead of the series against Sri Lanka, which starts on Wednesday.

ESPNcricinfo understands that he is a doubt for the first T20I, but that the swelling has settled down and that England's management are not majorly concerned. He has also been named in the ODI squad for the three-match World Cup Super League series which starts on June 29.

Bairstow's fitness is a significant boost for England following news of another serious injury to a fast bowler on Saturday, with Olly Stone, who is part of both their Test and limited-overs plans, ruled out for the rest of the English summer. Jofra Archer, Reece Topley and Saqib Mahmood are also missing the Sri Lanka white-ball series due to injuries.

Ben Stokes, who has not played a competitive game since April 12, is due to make his return from a finger injury on Sunday, when Durham plays Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast, and is targeting an England return during the T20I series against Pakistan from July 16.

^ Back to Top ^