Atkinson ruled out of final Ashes Test with hamstring injury

England pace bowler Gus Atkinson has been ruled out of the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney with a left hamstring injury.

Atkinson sustained the injury during the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne, and becomes England's third fast bowler to leave the tour through injury after Mark Wood (knee) and Jofra Archer (side strain).

Atkinson appeared to strain his hamstring on the second day while bowling the final ball of his fifth over of Australia's second innings. He left the field immediately and was sent for a scan later on Saturday. He did not return to the field was not required to bat; England coped with his loss well, dismissing the hosts for 132 before chasing down 175 with four wickets to spare for their first overseas Ashes Test win since January 2011.

With one Test remaining in Sydney, which begins on January 4, England have opted against drafting in a replacement. There is cover in the squad, with Durham seamer Matthew Potts still yet to feature, and Surrey's Matthew Fisher (Surrey) an option having been promoted from the England Lions squad after Wood returned home following the second Test.

Shoaib Bashir is also an option if England want another spinner to accompany Will Jacks. Though unlikely, it may cross their minds given the pitch at the SCG could be flatter following the furore over the state of the MCG surface that saw 36 wickets fall inside six sessions.

The good news for Atkinson is that this latest setback is not a recurrence of the right hamstring injury sustained during last summer's Test against Zimbabwe, which saw him miss the first four matches against India. He returned for the final match of the series at The Oval to take eight wickets (including 5 for 33 in the first innings, a fourth five-wicket haul) and almost saw England home with the bat. He was the last wicket to fall as India won by six runs to square the series 2-2.

Atkinson arrived in Australia as England's attack leader but struggled to maintain his pace and incisiveness across the first two Tests. He went wicketless in Perth, then took 3 for 151 from 33 overs in Brisbane only to find himself dropped for the must-win game in Adelaide.

Archer's injury brought Atkinson back into the XI for the MCG and he made use of a spicy pitch to add three more wickets to his tally. He leaves the tour with six at 47.33 - the first time he has averaged over 28 in his seven series since debuting at the start of the 2024 summer.