Plunkett replaces injured Finn in England squads

Steven Finn has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of South Africa after he felt discomfort on day two of the third Test and scans revealed a left side strain. Yorkshire pace bowler Liam Plunkett will replace Finn in the ODI and Twenty20 squads. He is currently in the UAE with the England Lions and will travel to South Africa at the weekend, after the first two 50-over games against Pakistan A.

Plunkett bowled with impressive pace and hostility in the two T20s he appeared in against Pakistan in the UAE – claiming three wickets in each of the games – at the end of November. England expects Finn to be available for the World T20 in March. Having originally been left out of the Test tour of South Africa due to a foot injury, he recovered quicker than anticipated and, after his late call-up, bowled beautifully without much reward in the first three Tests.

Finn, who had been selected in both the ODI and T20 squads, will stay in South Africa for a week to begin his rehab before returning to the UK at the end of the Test series. He felt tightness in his left side during England’s series-clinching victory at the Wanderers and was sent for scans on Sunday, the day after England’s dramatic seven-wicket win put the tourists 2-0 ahead with one Test to play.

This will pave the way for Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan or Mark Footitt to vie for a starting role at Centurion as England target an emphatic 3-0 success. Woakes played in the first Test in Durban when England’s record wicket-taker James Anderson sat out with a calf strain while Jordan and uncapped Footitt did not feature in any of the first three matches of the series.

England ODI squad:

E Morgan (capt), M Ali, J Bairstow, J Buttler, L Plunkett, A Hales, C Jordan, A Rashid, J Root, J Roy, B Stokes, J Taylor, R Topley, D Willey, C Woakes.

England T20 squad:

E Morgan (capt), M Ali, S Billings, J Buttler, L Plunkett, A Hales, C Jordan, A Rashid, J Root, J Roy, B Stokes, R Topley, D Willey, C Woakes, J Vince.