Gary Ballance is all set to miss the third Test against South Africa. (Source: Reuters)
In a blow to England cricket team, it has been confirmed that batsman Gary Ballance has been diagnosed with a broken finger. The injury means that he is all set to miss the third Test against South Africa which starts on Thursday next week.
On the fourth and final day of the second Test at Trent Bridge, Ballance was hit on the left index finger by a short ball from pacer Morne Morkel. He went for X-ray on Monday and the results on Tuesday confirmed he had a broken finger. He will now see a specialist later in the evening to know the recovery time, a report in ESPNcricinfo said.
Ballance has scored 35 runs so far in the series at an average of 21.25 and is in trouble of losing his place. He is not playing at his favourite position of number five as England have promoted him to number three. England play their third Test next Thursday but he is unlikely to recover in that time. Even if he gets fit to bat, he may not be able to field.
This means that England could hand Mark Stoneman of Surrey county a debut in the third Test. Even coach Trevor Bayliss admitted after the Trent Bridge loss that names of Stoneman and Tom Westley of Essex had been discussed before the start of the series.
“Since Andrew Strauss, I’ve forgotten how many guys have played at the top of the order,” he said. “All of those guys have been picked because they’ve done well in county cricket. They’ve then probably started off well in Test cricket and then fallen away a little. So that’s a concern, obviously.
“But one of the things we’ve tried to do since I’ve come in is give those guys a bit longer to show what they have. It still hasn’t worked, to be honest. But if we’re consistent with our selections Jennings, at the top of the order, should get some more goes.
“The last selection meeting we had before this series started, players like Stoneman and Westley were spoken about at length. Obviously, Haseeb Hameed, too, but he is a little out of form this year. So those guys, they are on the edge.”
Stone, who averages more than 58 in the county season this year with three centuries, can play at any position in top three. The series is currently tied at 1-1 with two matches remaining.
