English player Ben Stokes will have to miss out on the remainder of the Pakistan series to attend to some family matters.
Pakistan and England still have two more Tests to go. However, English all-rounder Ben Stokes would have to miss out on these games due to some family reasons that have forced him to immediately leave towards New Zealand.
Stokes’ father, Ged, has been hospitalized since December after he had suffered from a serious illness. It may be recalled that Stokes had not been present in England’s series against South Africa. His absence during that time was due to the fact that he had chosen to stay beside his father while he had also been recovering from an injury himself.
In a statement released by the ECB, they said, ‘The England and Wales Cricket Board, along with the Stokes family, requests that all media respects the family's privacy at this time’.
With Stokes’ indefinite absence, the English side will have to find a substitute for the vice-captain who had well-contributed to the team’s performance ever since cricket has resumed. Most likely, it will be Zak Crawley who can fill up Stokes’ spot as it is eyed that he will return to the No.3 batting spot. Aside from that, England can also use the partnership of Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes who both did a great job to secure the first victory against Pakistan.
So far, the odds of the next Test match between the two teams are -222.22 for England and +163 for Pakistan. To see more updates about the latest cricket odds, check out Betwala.
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