Leicestershire left-armer Josh Hull has been ruled out of the upcoming England men’s Test tour of Pakistan due to a quad injury.
Hull is absent from the current white-ball series against Australia due to the injury, which he suffered during his Test debut against Sri Lanka at the Kia Oval, and will continue his recovery instead of travelling with the squad for next month’s three-Test series.
The 6ft 7in left-arm seamer was catapulted into the Test team for their final assignment of the summer against Sri Lanka earlier this month despite a thin first-class record of 16 wickets in 10 matches.
He finished with creditable match figures of three for 91 runs but his Test debut had an unpleasant ending as a thigh complaint meant he was unable to feature in the T20 and ODI series against Australia.
It was initially thought the problem would not be serious enough to rule the 20-year-old rookie out of the three-match Test series against Pakistan, which gets under way in Multan on October 7.
However, Hull has conceded defeat in his bid to be on his first international tour, and the England and Wales Cricket Board has announced there will be no replacement player called up.
Hull is now turning his focus to being fit for the white-ball tour of the Caribbean in late October and November, while England have another Test trip on the horizon against New Zealand in December.
Speaking to The Cricketer about the last few weeks with England, he said: “It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. It’s been a crazy experience but I’ve got a little niggle at the minute.
“I think I’m off Pakistan. They fly on October 1 so it was a bit of a push but there are a few opportunities for the winter now and we’ll see what happens.
“It’s come at an annoying time because we had the white-ball stuff. When you get an opportunity like that to get in the mix, you want to keep on going.
“It’s given me a lot to think about in terms of where I want to improve to get to play at that level. It was hopefully the start of a journey.”
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Needing to defend eight off the final over, Hull held his nerve to help Leicestershire defeat Hampshire and win the 2023 One Day Cup
Hull’s absence leaves Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse as the frontline fast bowling options in a 16-strong squad for Pakistan.
Ben Stokes is unlikely to bowl at the start of the series but an ECB statement on Wednesday said he “remains on track” to captain the side after tearing his hamstring in The Hundred last month.
England men’s Test Squad
Ben Stokes (Durham) Captain
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Jordan Cox (Essex)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Matthew Potts (Durham)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
England vs Australia schedule – all games live on Sky Sports
Watch the fourth ODI between England and Australia at Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 12pm on Friday September 27 (first ball, 12.30pm) and stream contract-free with NOW.
