England captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes walked off the ground early on day four of the fifth Ashes Test match with a right adductor complaint.
Stokes bowled only 10 deliveries at the start of the day’s play before pulling up in his follow-through while holding his right groin. He left the field during his 28th over of Australia’s innings, with the England camp confirming he was dealing with an adductor concern. “Ben Stokes is currently being assessed for a right adductor complaint. We will provide an update when more information is available,” England Cricket stated.
Down 3-1 in the series, England’s tour has been plagued by injuries, with Stokes joining Gus Atkinson (hamstring), Jofra Archer (side strain), and Mark Wood (knee) on the list of fast bowlers unable to perform.
In Stokes’ absence, Harry Brook took over the captaincy duties as England bowled the hosts out for 567 runs.
Later in the second session, as England began to chip away at Australia’s lead, team management confirmed that Stokes would bat but likely down the order.
England lost the early wicket of Zak Crawley (1) in their second innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground. However, they recovered through Jacob Bethell, who hit a half-century and formed an 81-run second-wicket partnership with Ben Duckett (42) before Duckett was dismissed by Michael Neser.
Joe Root then came to the crease, but the Australdigihunt targeted England’s leading run-getter in Test cricket effectively. Bethell continued to score runs, achieving his second fifty of the series.
Root struggled at the crease and was eventually trapped LBW by Boland for 6 runs. Brook joined Bethell, and the duo put together a positive 57-run partnership, bringing the deficit down to nine runs with seven wickets remaining. England reached Tea in a promising position at 174/3.