Sri Lanka vs England, 2018: Ben Foakes called up for the Test series

England have called up Surrey wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes to their Test squad on the tour of Sri Lanka as cover for the injured Jonny Bairstow. England’s first choice Test keeper had earlier injured his ankle ligament while playing football as part of the training. Bairstow will hence have to miss Saturday’s T20I against hosts Sri Lanka as well.

There is no confirmation from the England team management yet as to whether he will return for the first of the three Test matches which gets underway on November 6. Foakes is scheduled to touch down in Colombo this weekend and subsequently join the England squad as they prepare themselves for the Test series.

The 25-year-old cricketer had been earlier named in England’s Test squad for the 2017-18 Ashes series but did not end up playing in any of the matches. When Bairstow sustained the injury, England brought in Alex Hales to replace him for last Saturday’s ODI win over Sri Lanka, giving them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the 5-match series.

Football increases risk to players, says Michael Vaughan

Following Bairstow’s injury, former England captain Michael Vaughan was critical of football being deployed as part of training, saying it brought an “increase” to “risk”. He also added that he would not allow it in training during the World Cup year. The English cricketers regularly play a short game of football as part of training and pre-match warm-ups.

According to the BBC, the players have also been awarding each other fantasy football values in the ongoing tour. England will be hosting the 2019 Cricket World Cup and have been touted as favourites to clinch the coveted trophy on home soil.

Ben is the son of the former football referee Peter Foakes. He had emerged as a promising wicketkeeper-batsman at Essex and was immediately earmarked from an early age as an England prospect. Former England wicketkeeper-batsman Alec Stewart and Foakes’ coach at Surrey proposed him a few months before his call-up as the best wicketkeeper in the world.

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