SYDNEY (AP) — England pace bowler Gus Atkinson has joined the tourists’ mounting injury toll after being ruled out for the fifth and final Ashes cricket test in Sydney with a hamstring injury.
Atkinson pulled up lame during the second morning of the Boxing Day test and was officially ruled-out after scans on Monday confirmed the injury in his left leg.
England have already lost star speedsters Mark Wood (knee) and Jofra Archer (side strain) during the series, with 27-year-old Matthew Potts expected to come into the team for the fifth test starting on Jan. 4 and join Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue in the attack.
Carse is now the only pacer remaining from the original four that took the field in Perth, believing they could tear through a brittle Australian batting lineup with lightning pace, but lost the series inside 11 days.
Atkinson played in the two heavy 8-wicket defeats in the first two tests in Perth and Adelaide, before being dropped for Josh Tongue for the third test at Adelaide.
He was recalled for the injured Archer for the Boxing Day test, England’s first win in Australia since 2011, and had a series return of six wickets at 47.33.
Captain Ben Stokes and spin-bowling allrounder Will Jacks also remain available as bowling options, as is specialist spinner Shoaib Bashir, who is yet to play a match in the series.
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