England head coach Trevor Bayliss has admitted that the expected absence of star all-rounder Ben Stokes in the third Test against Pakistan, which starts on August 3 at Edgbaston, will leave a void in the English team. However, Bayliss is confident that in-form player Chris Woakes would be able to fill that void.

The all-rounder, who was making a comeback in the second Test match at Old Trafford after recovering from a knee injury, suffered a calf injury while bowling and after being assessed by the physio was forced to leave the field. The 25-year-old has already missed two Tests, and a limited-overs series, against Sri Lanka this summer because of knee surgery.
“Stokes is a big player for us, he adds a lot of spark to the team. He bats, bowls and he’s a leader in the field so it is a bit of a hole,” said Bayliss.

“But someone like Chris Woakes has done brilliantly so far this season so we are lucky in that aspect.”

Meanwhile, the head coach also urged patience with batsman James Vince, who has looked out of sorts in Tests. After performing poorly in the Test series against Sri Lanka, Vince has failed to get back to form which is piling more pressure on him. The middle-order batsman has scored only 130 runs at an average of only 18.57 in his five Tests.
“I don’t see any reason to panic at the moment,” Bayliss said. “But as I said after the last game, runs will count. It doesn’t matter what you look like getting them… it gets down to how many runs and how many wickets.

“I’d like to see people given a little bit more of an extra go rather than one game. If there’s someone else who warrants a place to replace a player like that… I’m sure it will be discussed.”