As they started their first Test series of the summer against New Zealand, England is missing eight seam bowlers due to injury or other fitness concerns.
The first bowler to be declared out for the summer due to a stress fracture in his back was Mathew Fisher, who was succeeded by Saqib Mahmood, who also suffered a stress fracture in his back.
Jofra Archer became the third England bowler to be ruled out for the summer with a stress fracture, following Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher.
Following Archer, Mark Wood was ruled out with an elbow injury, Olly Stone with a back/thigh stress fracture, Chris Woakes with a shoulder/knee injury, Sam Curran with a back stress fracture, and Ollie Robinson with a general fitness concern.
Robinson was forced to miss England’s March series against the West Indies due to a shoulder injury. He was passed over for the New Zealand series because his fitness, which was initially raised during last winter’s Ashes, was still in doubt following a dental issue and, most recently, food poisoning severely limited his start to the season with Sussex.
Matty Potts’ path to an England Test debut has been paved by a combination of form, projection, and injury during his first call-up.
The 23-year-old Durham seamer joins England at a time when Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Saqib Mahmood, Olly Stone, and Matthew Fisher are all out due to injury, while Ollie Robinson has been removed from the team due to fitness concerns following little play for Sussex this summer.
