Atkinson, who debuted at the Lord’s in James Anderson’s farewell Test impressed all with 34 scalps at a bowling average of 20.17 across six Tests – against West Indies and Sri Lanka. He bagged twelve wickets on his debut against the Caribbean nation before transcending as a team leader along with Chris Woakes in the recently-concluded Sri Lanka series.
England incurred plenty of setbacks in their bowling unit with Mark Wood and Ben Stokes suffering injuries. On top of that, they’re yet to fill the void of vintage duo – Stuart Broad and James Anderson. In the latest update, Atkinson was seen off the field on the third day of the final Test at the Kennington Oval. He had a tight quad but came out to bowl eleven overs the next day, picking up a solitary wicket.
“He’s obviously got a couple weeks off now just to refresh and move forward. He’s able to put his feet up now, but I think the way he bowled today and just chatting to him, he actually feels like it feels better today than it did when he first felt it so that’s a positive for us. Fingers crossed he’s all good,” Pope said on Atkinson.
As a result, the England Cricket Board has decided to rest the pacer and bring in Olly Stone who snared seven wickets from a couple of Tests against Sri Lanka. Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matt Potts, and Jamie Smith are other red-ball features that are set to take part in the white-ball series against Australia.
England ODI squad to play Australia: Jos Buttler (capt), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, John Turner
