Champions Trophy: England's Chris Woakes ruled out of tournament with strain

  • Published

ICC Champions Trophy 2017

Venues: The Oval, Edgbaston, Cardiff. Dates: 1-18 June

Coverage: Highlights every evening on BBC Two, ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; in-play highlights and text commentary on the BBC Sport website

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the rest of the Champions Trophy after a scan revealed he has sustained a side strain.

Woakes, who has played 63 one-day internationals, bowled two overs in the eight-wicket win over Bangladesh on Thursday before leaving the field.

Speaking on Friday after being ruled out, Woakes said: "More than anything, it's really frustrating."

England's next game in the tournament is against New Zealand on 6 June.

"An update on a replacement for the remainder of the tournament will follow in due course," said the ECB.

Woakes is England's highest-placed bowler in the International Cricket Council's one-day international rankings at seventh.

The 28-year-old has taken 89 wickets at an average of 31.60 and an economy rate of 5.58, while he has scored 800 runs for his country in one-day internationals at an average of exactly 25 and a strike rate of 86.86.

"It's a tough one to take, right at the start of a tournament which we have been building up to as a team for a while," he added.

"We've had our eyes on the Champions Trophy for a while now as a team and we were coming into the tournament in good form.

"The toughest thing as a bowler is having to come off after only bowling a couple of overs.

"Leaving the guys out there with almost 10 men is difficult to take, so I'm really pleased the boys managed to get over the line with a win."

Woakes' injury problems

Woakes did not feature in the second and third one-day internationals against South Africa last month because of a thigh problem and despite a Test series against the Proteas set for next month, he says he isn't going to put a timescale on his recovery.

"I will rehab it as well as I can. I'll listen to the medical staff, they know exactly what they are doing," he said.

"We will be as professional as possible and try and get back as soon as possible.

"I don't want to set a target to come back, I want to take it day-by-day and build it back up to return as soon as possible.

"I've never had a side strain before but as a bowler it's one of those injuries that is important not to risk."

England can still call up a replacement, with Middlesex pair Steven Finn or Toby Roland-Jones among the contenders.

After New Zealand, the tournament hosts face Australia at Edgbaston on 10 June.

Analysis

BBC Sport cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew

As an old fast bowler, I can tell you that having a proper side strain is like having a red hot poker jammed between your ribs. It seemed that he felt something and knew he had to stop - which was the right thing to do. It's not just a case of strapping them up and saying "on you go".

BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt

England were already likely to drop a pace bowler to make way for leg-spinner Adil Rashid, so Woakes' absence probably means a three-way fight between Jake Ball, David Wiley and whoever is called into the squad.

There will be a clamour for England to call on Stuart Broad - who the ECB had already asked, external to be rested for Nottinghamshire game with Derbyshire on Friday - but the selectors will be consistent. Steven Finn is an experienced option, while Toby Roland-Jones impressed on his debut against South Africa and offers lower-order runs.

As for Woakes, he now faces a fight to be fit for the first Test against South Africa in July. When James Anderson suffered a similar injury in 2015, he was out for almost two months.

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