England’s seam bowling attack took another hit early on day two of the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with fast bowler Gus Atkinson forced off the field clutching his left hamstring. Atkinson had been introduced into the attack early on Saturday morning and had already made an impact by dismissing nightwatchman Scott Boland.
However, in his fifth over, he appeared to strain his left hamstring while running in to bowl the final delivery and immediately signalled distress before walking off the field. He was replaced by a substitute fielder and was seen heading directly into the dressing rooms for assessment.
On day one, Atkinson bowled 14 overs, making an immediate impact with the wickets of Travis Head and Usman Khawaja. With the bat as well, he was impressive, scoring 28 off 35 deliveries. Notably, Atkinson replaced Archer for the Boxing Day Test after being dropped for the Adelaide Test.