Matthew Potts replaces injured Josh Tongue for West Indies ODIs

Nottinghamshire-bound Tongue suffered injury during the Lions camp in the United Arab Emirates and has been ruled out of the tour, with the Durham seamer enlisted for the 50-over matches

Nick Howson | 23/11/2023 at 17:26

England have been forced into a late change to their plans for the one-day internationals against West Indies after the withdrawal of Josh Tongue.

The seamer, who is bound for Nottinghamshire after leaving Worcestershire, is out of the entire tour after suffering an injury while with the Lions in the United Arab Emirates.

Durham seamer Matthew Potts has been added to the group for the three ODIs, though no replacement has been confirmed for the five T20Is.

Potts was part of the second-string squad which played Ireland in the summer while the main group rested ahead of the men's Cricket World Cup in India.

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Tongue has missed out on another chance to impress England (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

He took 2 for 47 bowling with the new ball, dismissing Paul Stirling and Curtis Campher, as England won by 48 runs at Trent Bridge, but rain denied him the chance to make an impression at Bristol.

His only other ODI outing came against South Africa on his home ground at Chester-Le-Street when he produced four wicketless overs which cost 33 runs.

The development is a setback for Tongue, who was bidding to build on an impressive summer during which he won his Test debut against Ireland and shone in the Lord's Ashes Test against Australia.

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West Indies and England kick off their white-ball matches at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

The 25-year-old quick is viewed as a key part of England's future - he was awarded a two-year deal as part of the recent batch of central contracts - during the next ODI World Cup cycle and with an away Ashes series on the horizon.

Along with missing the opportunity to do further justice to the enthusiasm around his talent, it will be an added frustration that injury has struck again. Tongue was nearly forced into retirement by a shoulder-nerve problem which kept him out for nearly a year but has made real strides in the last 12 months.

West Indies face England in three ODIs on December 3, 6 (both Antigua) and 9 (Barbados) before five T20Is split between the Kensington Oval, St George's and the Brian Lara Cricket Academy between December 12-21.