Sri Lanka vs England: Liam Dawson returns home after sustaining an injury

England currently touring Sri Lanka to play 5 ODIs followed by a T20I and three Tests. With two ODIs already done and dusted, the visitors lead the series 1-0 at the moment. While the first game was a washout, England won the second one by 31 runs (DLS Method). However, their bowling all-rounder, Liam Dawson got injured during the second ODI.

Dawson, while bowling in the match, suffered a right side strain. Hence, the Hampshire spinner will return home and will not be available for the remainder of the series. As per the official England Cricket Board (ECB) website, the 28-year-old will fly back home on Tuesday. He is likely to be out of action for up to a month from now.

England names the replacement for Liam Dawson

The ECB has already named a replacement for him. Joe Denly will be replacing Liam Dawson and will be joining the side on Wednesday in Kandy. The 32-year-old will be returning to the side after nearly nine years.

The Kent cricketer was picked in the England squad back in 2009 after some consistent performances for his county team and England Lions. However, he failed to replicate what he did in county cricket and other tournaments while playing international cricket. In the nine ODIs that he played, Denly has only managed to score 268 runs. His average was just 30 and his strike rate of 65 didn’t really justify his selection.

As a result, he was dumped in the same year from the national ODI side. He also failed in the five T20I that he played averaging just 4 and has only scored 20 runs in all these games. Hence, he wasn’t to be seen playing international cricket again since 2010.

However, with some highly consistent performances in county cricket in the recent times and the successful run in the recently concluded Vitality T20 Blast earns him a call into the side yet again. Joe Denly could be a straight swap for Liam Dawson in the XI in case England require an additional spin bowling option.

🚨 INJURY NEWS 🚨@daws128 will return home from Sri Lanka due to a side strain, with @joed1986 called up as his replacement.

➡️ https://t.co/IVxtfMCsgF pic.twitter.com/k9uImKtQrx

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 15, 2018

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