3rd Blow for England: Atkinson Out of the Ashes

England suffer a fresh setback as Gus Atkinson is ruled out of the Ashes finale, adding to England injury crisis and reshaping the bowling attack.

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Dec 29, 2025 - 14:07

3rd Blow for England: Atkinson Out of the Ashes

Gus Atkinson has become the third England pace bowler to be ruled out of the Ashes series, with confirmation that he will miss the final Test against Australia in Sydney.

Atkinson suffered a left hamstring injury on the morning of the second and final day of England's victory in the fourth Test in Melbourne.

The touring party will not be calling up a replacement, leaving Matthew Potts poised to play in the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday (Saturday 23:30 GMT).

Atkinson joins Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in being unable to complete the series due to injury. All three were in England's first-choice playing XI for the first Test in Perth.

Wood has not played since Perth due to a knee problem, while Archer was ruled out after three Tests with a side strain.

Surrey's Atkinson struggled in the first two Tests, taking just three wickets, and was subsequently dropped for the third Test.

The 27-year-old returned to form in the fourth Test, taking three wickets in England's first innings and scoring 28 runs with the bat.

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He clutched his left hamstring at the end of his fourth over on the morning of the second day and immediately left the field. Atkinson took no further part as England secured a four-wicket victory later that day.

There is no confirmation of when he will return to the UK, where he will undergo further assessment. Earlier this year, Atkinson spent two months out with a right hamstring injury.

In Atkinson's absence, Durham's Potts is set to add to his 10 Test caps and make his Ashes debut.

The 27-year-old has not played a Test match since the defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton last December.

Potts, a regular during the first summer of the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era, has played only sporadically over the past two years. His last seven caps have come against six different opponents.

While England will almost certainly make changes for the series finale, Australia will also consider alterations to their team after their 18-match unbeaten run in home Ashes Tests was broken.

Spinner Todd Murphy could replace a pace bowler at the Sydney Cricket Ground, while all-rounder Cameron Green is under pressure after a poor run with the bat. Australia held an optional training session in Melbourne on Monday, with head coach Andrew McDonald confirming that batsman Usman Khawaja will play in Sydney, in what could potentially be his last Test.

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The left-hander turned 39 earlier this month, and Australia will not play another Test until August.

However, McDonald said there was "no indication" that Khawaja was about to end his Test career.

"We've made it pretty clear that we haven't had any conversations," McDonald said. "That's speculation from the outside."

The final day of the Sydney Test is scheduled for January 8, and after such a gruelling tour, England are due to begin a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka just two weeks later, on January 22.

The three One Day Internationals and T20 matches are part of the preparations for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka in February and March.

England will announce their squads on Tuesday, and they are expected to field their strongest possible teams, with no rest anticipated for multi-format players despite their involvement in the Ashes.

Questions will remain over the availability of Jofra Archer, who could be included in the World Cup squad and whose fitness will be assessed closer to the tournament.

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