Chris Woakes withdrawn from The Hundred 2024 amid injury fears following Ben Stokes' setback

Chris Woakes will not play in the final week of The Hundred 2024 as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has withdrawn him from the competition. The decision has been taken by the board in order to manage his workload before England's Test series against Sri Lanka.

Earlier, Chris Woakes was expected to play the last two group stage games for his side Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. But the Phoenix made an announcement on August 12 that Woakes will be "unavailable for the remainder of the competition".

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Ben Stokes' hamstring injury forces ECB to withdraw Chris Woakes

Recently, England's Test captain Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury while playing for his team Northern Superchargers on August 11 (Sunday) night. As a result, Stokes is likely to be ruled out of the Tests against Sri Lanka, which could mean that Chris Woakes will play as England's premier allrounder. However, the ECB denied that Chris Woakes' withdrawal from the Hundred has anything to do with Stokes' injury.

England have a no. of options to replace Stokes in the Playing XI. Jordan Cox recently received his maiden Test call-up to England's squad and he could replace Stokes in the batting order if England opts for an extra batter.

Another option will be to move wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes to No. 6 and No. 7 respectively and bring in Olly Stone or Matthew Potts at No. 8. With Zak Crawley already out due to injury, Dan Lawrence is set to open the batting alongside Ben Duckett.

England's bowlers rested during The Hundred 2024

It is to be noted that none of England's bowlers from the last two Tests against West Indies have played in the Hundred this season. Offspinner Shoaib Bashir and fast bowler Mark Wood are not a part of any squad in the competition.

Meanwhile, another Gus Atkinson, who made his Test debut against West Indies in the first Test, has also not been selected despite being with his team Oval Invincibles.

Alongside Ben Stokes, fast bowler Dillon Pennington was also injured early in The Hundred 2024. Pennington bowled five balls for his team but pulled out due to injury midway through the match. Just like Ben Stokes, he also suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out of the season. Pennington is yet to make his Test debut.

England's schedule against Sri Lanka

England will play a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC). The first Test will be played from August 21-25 in Manchester which will be followed by the second Test from August 29 - September 02 at Lord's. The final Test of the series will be played from September 06 - 10 at The Oval, London.

England is coming into the series on the back of a solid performance against West Indies in the month of July. Led by all-round performances with both bat and ball, England thrashed West Indies 3-0 at home.