Online Reporter
England test captain Ben Stokes says that he has undergone successful surgery after being struck in the face by a cricket ball.
The 34-year-old allrounder posted a picture on Instagram last week showing his eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose.
“You should see the state of the cricket ball,” read the caption, alongside a laughing face emoji.
On Tuesday he posted again from hospital with a photo of his swollen face and the caption: “May not look like it but the surgery was a success.”
Stokes is back in England following a woeful Ashes tour, which ended with a 4-1 series loss to Australia.
Although he has made it clear he wants to continue to captain the red-ball side, his position remains uncertain and there is an England and Wales Cricket Board review.
Stokes is no longer a member of England’s white-ball set-up and isn’t at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
He could next play for Durham in the early rounds of the County Championship before England begin their home test season against New Zealand at Lord’s on 4 June – Stokes’s 35th birthday.
Meanwhile, New Zealand allrounder Michael Bracewell has been ruled out of the rest of the Twenty20 World Cup after re-injuring his left calf, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Tuesday, with Cole McConchie set to replace him in the squad.
Bracewell tore his calf in the one-day international series against India last month and recovered in time for the World Cup but damaged the muscle again during warm-ups ahead of Sunday’s win over Afghanistan.
“We’re all feeling for Michael. It’s really tough to get ruled out of a World Cup and I know how much playing for New Zealand means to him,” head coach Rob Walter said.
“Cole is a seasoned campaigner. He brings a great all-round skillset to the group along with a lot of T20 experience. It’s great to be able to lean on an experienced head especially for a World Cup.”
New Zealand beat UAE by 10 wickets on Tuesday to top Group D and next play South Africa on Saturday in Ahmedabad.
Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup campaign suffered a major setback with key spinner Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a hamstring injury, the International Cricket Council said on Tuesday.
Bowling allrounder Dushan Hemantha has been named as his replacement in the squad.
The injury is a serious blow for the co-hosts, particularly after Hasaranga made a promising start to the World Cup by claiming three wickets in Sri Lanka’s 20-run victory over Ireland in their opening match.
His absence robs Sri Lanka of one of the world’s premier T20 spinners. The 28-year-old sits fifth on the all-time list of most T20 international wickets with 154.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Eshan Malinga was ruled out of the tournament after dislocating his shoulder, with Pramod Madushan brought in as his replacement.
The co-hosts face Oman in their second Group B game today -SuperSport.
