Perth, Nov 7 (IANS) England fast bowler Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia after injuring his toe, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Saturday.
“Josh Tongue has been ruled out of England Men’s white-ball tour of Australia due to a toe injury. He will return to the UK to undergo further assessment,” the ECB said in a post on its social media handles.
England have so far not named a replacement for Tongue, with the first of the three ODIs to be played in Perth Stadium on November 13. Tongue’s absence leaves England a seamer short for the series, with Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Henry Crocombe and Jamie Overton now the main pace bowling options available to captain Harry Brook.
Tongue, 28, was previously left out of the five-match T20I series that follows the three-game ODI series as part of a wider plan to manage his workload ahead of England’s Test tour of South Africa next month.
Tongue was last seen in action when he conceded 79 runs while taking three wickets in the only ODI tri-series game he played in Rawalpindi, as Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning chase of 430 against England.
A regular fixture in the Test side over the past year, Tongue earned his ODI and T20I caps this year. He also played two ODIs at home against Sri Lanka in September after a fine Test series against Pakistan, in which he picked up 19 wickets in three matches.
England opened their white-ball tour of Australia on a positive note by winning a 50-over warm-up match at the WACA Stadium in Perth on Saturday. After the white-ball leg, England will travel to South Africa for a three-match Test series. They will play a warm-up fixture in Durban from December 9 to 11, before the opening Test begins in Johannesburg on December 17.
England ODI squad: Harry Brook (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, and Joe Root.
–IANS
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