Cape Town: England have decided to do away with playing football to warm-up before a training session after they lost opener Rory Burns to it for the remainder of the ongoing four-match Test series against South Africa. Burns, who was England’s top scorer in the first Test, injured his left ankle while playing a football match during the warm-up prior to the Cape Town Test and scans revealed that he sustained ligament damage.
In the aftermath of the Burns’ injury, Ashley Giles, England cricket director and head coach Chris Silverwood have decided to ban football as a warm-up activity in training sessions, reports ESPNcricinfo.
The former England left-arm spinner had banned football from Warwickshire when he was director of cricket there.
The misfortune for the left-handed opener – who scored 84 runs in the Centurion Test which England lost by 107 runs – comes after right-arm pacer Jofra Archer pulled out of bowling practice on Thursday. England, 0-1 down in the Test series, are already plagued with illness to many of its players. (IANS)
