Sydney, Jan 7 (IANS) England captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes walked off the ground early on day four of the fifth Ashes Test match here on Wednesday with a right adductor complaint.

Stokes bowled only 10 deliveries from the beginning of Day 4 play on Wednesday, then pulled up in his follow-through holding his right groin. He walked off injured in the middle of his 28th over of Australia’s innings, with the England camp confirming the skipper was dealing with an adductor concern.

“Ben Stokes is currently being assessed for a right adductor complaint. We will provide an update when more information is available,” England Cricket said in a statement.

Down 3-1 in the series, the tourists’ visit has been hampered by a number of injuries, with Stokes joining Gus Atkinson (hamstring), Jofra Archer (side strain) and Mark Wood (knee) as stricken fast bowlers on the tour.

Harry Brook took on captaincy duties in Stokes’ absence in the field, with England bowling the hosts out for 567.

Later in the second session of play, as England chipped away at Australia’s lead, team management confirmed that Stokes will bat but probably down the order.

England lost the early wicket of Zak Crawley (1) in their second innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground, though recovered through Jacob Bethell, who raised his bat for a half-century, and stitched 81-run second-wicket stand with Ben Duckett (42), who was castled by Michael Neser.

That brought Root to the crease and the Australians were on the money against England’s leading run-getter in Test cricket. Bethell found a way to keep the scoreboard ticking and raised his second fifty of this series.

Root never looked comfortable and was eventually trapped Ibw by Boland for 6. Brook joined Bethell and the duo batted positively to stitch a 57-run partnership, bringing the deficit down to nine runs with seven wickets left, as England have made it to Tea in a promising position at 174/3.

–IANS

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