England’s Ashes hopes suffer another blow

England’s preparations for the Ashes have suffered a further setback with the news that Steven Finn has been ruled out of the tour due to injury.

Middlesex fast bowler Finn was a late addition to the squad as a replacement for Ben Stokes but broke down in training last Thursday and scans have revealed he has torn ligaments in his left knee.

It is a cruel blow for Finn who The Guardian reports was hoping to exorcise memories of miserable tours Down Under in the past.

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“He departs in some pain, and cursing his poor fortune. He had hoped to overcome a remarkable Ashes touring record which saw him dropped in 2010-11 then deemed ‘unselectable’ by Ashley Giles in 2013-14.”

The loss of Finn together with the continuing uncertainty over the availability of Stokes – who is under police investigation following a fight outside a nightclub in September – further reduces England’s seam bowling options but The Daily Telegraph believes that Liam Plunkett would be an ideal replacement.

“Finn brings to four the number of England pace bowlers ruled out at the start of this tour. Apart from Ben Stokes, England are missing Mark Wood with an injured left ankle, and Toby Roland-Jones with a stress fracture of his back.

“If England seek an experienced replacement, Liam Plunkett would be the nearest like-for-like. Banging it in short of a length would also complement the fuller lengths of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes.”

If there is a growing feeling that England’s bid to retain the urn is jinxed at least coach Trevor Bayliss offered the BBC more positive news on the fitness of Moeen Ali.

“Off-spinning all-rounder Moeen, 30, missed training on Friday with a side injury, but Bayliss said he ‘will be fine’. He added Moeen would play the final warm-up next week in Townsville. Mason Crane will again deputise for Moeen in Wednesday's warm-up game, which will be a day-night match as England prepare for the floodlit Test at the Adelaide Oval next month.”

Bayliss also told The Independent that an announcement on who will replace Stokes as Joe Root’s vice-captain would be made shortly.

“Alastair Cook, the Yorkshireman’s predecessor as captain, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are all in contention for the role.

“England coach Trevor Bayliss confirmed: “Rooty and I have had a bit of a chat about it over the last few days, and you'll probably see an announcement in the next day or two. There’s probably three or four guys in the team that could do it - older guys who play that role anyway as leaders of the team.”