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England's top-order batter Ollie Pope has been ruled out of Ashes 2023 after he dislocated his shoulder in the Lord's Test. Pope will require surgery. In addition, he is not just ruled out of Ashes but for the rest of the summer campaign.
“Scans in London on Monday revealed the full extent of the injury and he will miss the rest of the summer campaign and will require surgery. He will work closely with the England and Surrey medical teams in respect of his rehabilitation,” England Cricket Board’s (ECB) statement read.
Pope's surgery would not have aggravated to this extent if it was not from miscommunications with match officials. Pope fielded with a shoulder injury in the second innings as England thought that they are not allowed a substitute fielder for the remainder of Test.
Pope has not been in the best of forms in the Ashes. He has scored 90 runs from four innings at an average of 22.5.
Ahead of the must-win Headingley encounter starting July 6, England have not called for a cover. Dan Lawrence is likely to replace him for the third Ashes Test. Lawrence's last Test appearance was in March 2022 against West Indies. He has been in good form of late. In the previous County Cricket encounter for Essex, he scored 152 against Warwickshire last month.
If England need to keep their hopes of regaining the urn, they need to make a comeback in the Headingley Test. Last time England and Australia played at Leeds, Ben Stokes’s heroic ton helped the hosts win by a narrow margin of just one run. Stokes showed glimpses of that knock in the Lord’s Test but his 155-run knock was not enough as the visitors won by 43 runs.
Few other changes are expected in the England side as well. Moeen Ali is likely to play after recovering from finger injury he suffered in the first Test. In addition, James Anderson who has taken just three wickets in the two Tests so far may be seen warming the benches. Stokes may prefer Mark Wood’s raw pace to unsettle the Australian batters.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Ashes 2023: Will England vice-captain Ollie Pope play in Headingley Test? Coach Brendon McCullum offers major update
Ashes 2023: Ben Stokes responds after Australian newspaper takes massive 'crybabies' swipe at Three Lions with captain's picture on front page
