Paceman Jake Ball piled on the problems for England's bowling attack on Thursday when he was ruled out of the first Test with South Africa because of a knee strain. The 26-year-old suffered the injury playing for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship this week and joins fellow seamers Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes on the sidelines ahead of next week's first Test against the Proteas.
Ball's injury is also a huge blow to his county's hopes of beating Surrey in Saturday's One-Day Cup final at Lord's. "He went for a scan yesterday (Wednesday) to assess the damage and was unable to take to the field when the third day of the day-night match resumed after a rain delay," read a Nottinghamshire statement.