Hamstring injury ends Stokes' English summer

England Test captain Ben Stokes will miss the rest of the northern summer with a torn hamstring.

The 33-year-old suffered the injury while batting for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on Sunday and was later seen on crutches.

Stokes will miss England's Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins at Old Trafford on August 21.

A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said Stokes was "aiming to return for England's winter Test tour of Pakistan, scheduled to start in early October. The tour includes Test matches in Multan, Karachi, and Rawalpindi".

Opener Zak Crawley is also targeting the Pakistan tour after being ruled out of the three-match series against Sri Lanka with a finger injury.

Vice-captain Ollie Pope is set to step up and lead the side against Sri Lanka with the Brendon McCullum-coached side then travelling to Pakistan with the first Test starting on October 7.

Stokes had knee surgery last November and then opted out of England's T20 World Cup campaign in June to prioritise his fitness as an allrounder ahead of their Test series against West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Despite his injury, he would have been unlikely to feature against Australia when Mitch Marsh's team visit for three T20s and five ODIs in September given his recent focus on red-ball international cricket.

He took five wickets in the 3-0 series victory over the West Indies this summer and appeared to be back to full fitness before suffering the hamstring tear against Manchester Originals at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have appointed Ian Bell as their batting coach for their tour of England. Bell played 118 Tests for England, scoring 22 centuries.

"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there," said Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley De Silva.

"Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour."