In a colossal blow to Northern Superchargers in the ongoing The Hundred 2024 tournament, their star player Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury while attempting to play a scoop shot against Manchester Originals' Ollie Robinson.
Stokes clutched to his hamstring after scampering for a single and immediately asked for medical assistance. The physios rushed to his aide and after initial assessment he was helped off the field as there was no cart available to take him off the ground.
The England Test captain was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital in ambulance from Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. He got back to the venue an hour later and walked with the help of the crutches as he shook hands with Manchester Originals players. Later, he signed autographs for fans as well.
Superchargers win despite injury to Stokes
Despite Stokes' injury, Superchargers went on to win the match on the back of Nicholas Pooran's unbeaten 33-ball 66, skipper Harry Brook's 26-ball 43 and Adam Hose's 14-ball 27.
After the seven-wicket win with three balls to spare, Brook was asked in the post-match presentation about Stokes’ hamstring injury, to which he said, “Doesn't look great unfortunately, will get a scan tomorrow and see how it is.”
Stokes is unlikely to feature in Superchargers' last league stage game against London Spirit at Headingley, Leeds on August 13.
Huge blow for England head of Sri Lanka Test series
Stokes’ injury is a major blow for England as they host Sri Lanka for a three-Test series starting August 21 at the same venue he got injured. The Test captain is already missing the services of Zak Crawley who injured his finger during the series against West Indies.
The 33-year-old now faces a race against time to regain full fitness before the series which is crucial if England are to remain in hunt to qualify for their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) final. England are currently placed sixth on the table after series win over West Indies at home.
If Stokes is unable to recover before the first Test, it will be interesting to see who leads England against Dhananjaya de Silva-led Sri Lanka.
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