Gus Atkinson withdrawn from The Hundred final as Ben Stokes' injury haunts ECB

The 26-year-old Oval Invincibles right-arm pacer Gus Atkinson has been pulled out of the final of The Hundred 2024 by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as they continue with their cautious approach following the serious injury suffered by the red-ball captain Ben Stokes.

England suffered a colossal blow when Test skipper Ben Stokes suffered an injury while playing for Northern Superchargers against Manchester Originals in The Hundred. While going for a single, he picked up an injury and fell on the ground clutching his left leg. He was taken off the field quickly and was later spotted using crutches to walk.

When he underwent scans, it was revealed that Stokes had severely injured his left hamstring as he tore it and was ruled out of the entire competition as well as the Sri Lanka Test series. In his place, the vice-captain of the team, Ollie Pope, will take the charge against the Lankan Lions at home.

Ben Stokes, meanwhile, will be aiming to make his comeback to cricket in the England tour of Pakistan 2024, which is set to begin on October 7 in Multan.

On Friday, it was revealed that Gus Atkinson, who has only featured once for Oval Invincibles in 2024 and returned with figures of 0 for 28 in 10 balls, will be missing The Hundred final and joining Chris Woakes on the list of players with whom ECB is taking a cautious approach to avoid any further injury setbacks.

Gus Atkinson's Oval Invincibles have booked a place in the final, thanks to their brilliant performances throughout the competition. The summit clash is set to be played on August 18 at Lord's Cricket Ground and Oval Invincibles will be taking on Southern Brave or Birmingham Phoenix.

Gus Atkinson has been withdrawn, which is quite understandable - Sam Billings

Sam Billings, the skipper of Oval Invincibles, speaking ahead of the final said that the ECB withdrawing Gus Atkinson from the final ahead of Sri Lanka Tests is understandable.

"Gus has been withdrawn, which is quite understandable," Sam Billings, the Invincibles' captain, said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "It's disappointing for him but Saqib Mahmood has been phenomenal for us all tournament and showed his class the other night. He'll stay in the side."

"Jordan will be available and I think that's great for him," Billings said. "I've been in that position before where as a young player, you get withdrawn and miss out on playing time. For anyone to play in a final at Lord's in the leading domestic competition in the country, in front of a packed house is perfect preparation for international cricket."

Other than Gus Atkinson, Oval Invincibles will also be missing Spencer Johnson, who didn't have a great competition and later suffered an injury that has ruled him out of Australia's UK tour.

Coming back to Gus Atkinson, he was absolutely sensational for England National Cricket Team in his debut Test series, which was also the last time James Anderson donned the England Test jersey.

In the series against West Indies at home, Atkinson picked up 22 wickets and bagged the Player of the Series award. In other news, Jofra Archer, who is also being managed by ECB, is expected to be available for both Eliminator and Final.