England pacer Dillon Pennington in doubt about featuring in Test series against Sri Lanka due to injury
Aug 04, 2024
New Delhi [India], August 4 : Pacer Dillon Pennington is in doubt about making a debut for England in their upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka after sustaining a hamstring injury that has rendered him unavailable for The Hundred.
The 25-year-old has been one of the standout quicks in the ongoing County Championship this season. For Nottinghamshire, he scythed 31 wickets at 23.80 in eight appearances.
Pennington was with England's squad for their three-match series against the West Indies last month. The Three Lions Test skipper Ben Stokes was impressed with the 25-year-old and stated that Pennington would be "ready to go" if his services were needed against Sri Lanka.
Pennington's chances of getting the first taste of international cricket have been dented. During his first competitive appearance for a month, Pennington left the field injured.
Pennington bowled five balls at The Oval during his debut for Northern Superchargers against Oval Invincibles in the Hundred. After that, he was unable to return to bowl another over.
Superchargers confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Sunday that the 25-year-old pacer withdrew from the final two weeks of The Hundred.
Due to his recent setback, Pennington is in doubt about England's opening Test against Sri Lanka, which will kick off on August 21 at Old Trafford.
During the build-up to the third Test against the West Indies, Stokes praised the work that Pennington put in while training with the squad.
"There's no doubt that if an opportunity comes to him, then he'll be ready to go. He's done everything that you'd expect someone in a squad to do - even if they're not playing," Stokes said.
"He's got a naturally high release point, and I think his move to Notts has been very, very good for him. He's had a lot of clarity given to him... his bowling has progressed so quickly over the last year. That's the feedback that we got from not only the guys who we use for that, but also Ben Duckett fed back saying he's bowled some spells this year [like] at Test level," he added.
