Bairstow major doubt for fourth ODI after football injury
Jonny Bairstow injured his ankle whilst playing football in Englands pre-training warm-up session.
KANDY (Agencies) - Jonny Bairstow is a doubt for the fourth One Day Iinternational against Sri Lanka after injuring his ankle whilst playing football in England’s pre-training warm-up session.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, currently a specialist batsman in ODIs, turned his ankle over and could not resume training. The England medical staff will assess the injury ahead of the encounter in Kandy on Saturday.
Nottinghamshire’s Alex Hales is almost certain to take Bairstow’s place at the top of the order if the Yorkshireman is ruled out, though Joe Denly, who has replaced the injured Liam Dawson in England s ODI squad, is also a contender.
Incidentally, England banned football a decade ago when Denly was injured by an overly-enthusiastic tackle from batsman Owais Shah. Kent s Denly faced two weeks out with bruising to the bone, so it’s little wonder that he sat out of today’s kickabout.
According to The Telegraph, England coach Trevor Bayliss is not a fan of the activity, due to the high risk of injury, but the England players feel it helps them relax and boosts team morale.
With Jos Buttler taking the gloves for England in the 50-over form, Bairstow will not be keen to allow Hales the opportunity to stake a claim at the top of the order ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup on home soil in 2019.
