Scare for England as Ben Stokes retires hurt after blow to elbow

Ben Stokes was forced to retire hurt after sustaining a blow while batting during England's warm-up match in Colombo.

Stokes was struck when attempting to pull a short delivery from Lahiru Kumara. Through the shot too early, Stokes was hit just above the left elbow and, while he continued to bat for another few minutes, then decided to walk off and seek treatment.

He received treatment in the England dressing room and hoped to resume batting later in the day. There were no initial plans to send him for a scan.

England are already set to be without their first-choice wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow for the first Test in Galle which starts on Tuesday. Bairstow sustained an ankle injury during the ODI series and has played no part in the two-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Board side, though he was able to take a limited part in training on Wednesday. It remains likely that Jos Buttler will take the gloves from Bairstow though Ben Foakes could also be picked.

There are no like-for-like replacements for Stokes. Likely to bat at No. 5 and perform the role of third seamer, his loss would leave England struggling to balance the side.

There were mixed fortunes for other players involved in the warm-up. While Joe Root settled in with an untroubled half-century and Rory Burns impressed in scoring 47, Keaton Jennings and Joe Denly were less convincing. Jennings played-on for 13 as he attempted to run one down to third man, while Denly's struggles were ended when he missed a full, straight delivery. He had earlier endured some nervous moments against the spinners and been involved in a run-out with Burns.