In The Hundred tournament, Oval Invincibles will face the winner of the eliminator match between Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave in the final. Meanwhile, news has come that Gus Atkinson will not be available for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred 2024 final on Sunday 18 August. In fact, the England Cricket Board has decided to exclude him from the final match ahead of England’s three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday 21 August.

The board has taken a cautious approach after Ben Stokes’ injury during the Hundred clash. In fact, a few days ago, after Stokes’ injury, fast bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes was also removed from the tournament.

Atkinson has played only one match for the Invincibles this season and has not taken any wicket by giving 28 runs in 10 balls. Let us tell you that The Hundred is a tournament where an innings is not of 10 or 20 overs but of 100 balls. At the same time, the bowler has to bowl only 5 balls in 1 over and not 6.

Invincibles captain Sam Billings said:

“Gus has been dropped from the squad, which is understandable. It’s disappointing for him, but Saqib Mahmood has performed brilliantly for us throughout the tournament and showed his class in the last match. He will remain in the squad.”

Gus Atkinson had a stellar performance in his first Test series against the West Indies last month. The young player took 22 wickets in three Tests at an average of 16.22, including two five-wicket hauls.

The fast bowler has played 9 ODIs and 3 T20Is for England since his international debut last year. Atkinson has taken 17 wickets in the white-ball format and was part of the England squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup.