England’s Stokes out of second Test against Sri Lanka

LEEDS: England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka with a knee injury, team management confirmed Monday. Stokes has been replaced in England’s 12-man squad by Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes. Durham star Stokes injured himself during England’s crushing innings and 88-run win in the first Test at Headingley. He will now miss the second of the three-match series, which starts at his Chester-le-Street home ground on Friday. Woakes is now in the hunt for a seventh Test cap. His last appearance came against South Africa at Centurion in January, a match where England lost but won the series. He will compete for a place in England’s X1 against uncapped Nottinghamshire quick Jake Ball, in the squad at Headingley. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have confirmed that Kusal Perera will be joining their squad. Perera was cleared to play again two weeks ago after the International Cricket Council lifted a provisional doping ban and all associated charges against him following concerns over the reliability of the drug test carried out by a World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratory in Qatar. The wicket-keeper/batsman’s arrival, possibly in time for the second Test, will change the balance of Sri Lanka’s squad as he is replacing injured paceman Dhammika Prasad, who has returned home with a shoulder injury. “Kusal will join the team as soon as possible and acclimatise, so he can do some serious work with the bat,” Sri Lanka chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya told Cricinfo. England squad for 2nd Test: Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow ( wkt), Jake Ball, Stuart Broad, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Joe Root, James Vince, Chris Woakes.