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Bairstow a bright prospect for England, says Farbrace

Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the second Investec Test against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street because of his knee injury and will be replaced in England’s squad by Chris Woakes.

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Having lost the first Test against England in Leeds by an innings and 88-runs, the second Test in Durham is a must-win game for Sri Lanka if they are to harbour any hopes of winning the series.

Both will travel up to join the squad after close of play on Monday, at the halfway mark in their Specsavers County Championship matches.

Finn took up 46 balls and batted for 72 minutes as he scored 17 before Bairstow was caught on the long-on boundary going for a big shot and Finn was last man out stumped by Dinesh Chandimal to give Rangana Herath his 299th Test wicket.

Even without Stokes, England would expect to seal the series in Durham against a Sri Lanka side lacking the experience of retired batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

The full extent of Stokes’ injury will become clearer on Tuesday when he is reviewed by a consultant following a scan over the weekend, however The Telegraph in the United Kingdom are now reporting that Stokes will undergo surgery and potentially be unavailable until the Test series against Pakistan in July.

There is now no timeframe on the absence for the 24-year-old, who will see a consultant on Tuesday.

His last outings came in the fourth Test against South Africa at Centurion where he finished with figures of 1 for 144.

Woakes is now in the hunt for a seventh Test cap. However, England could still opt for Jake Ball, the uncapped Nottinghamshire seamer who has kept his place in the squad.

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Nick Compton failed at Headingley, making a three-ball duck, but is set for a run in the side for the rest of the series before England make a call on his long-term future. 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.

England’s Stokes out of second Test