England having a Ball with injury doubts over seam attack

Jake Ball will remain with the England squad as cover ahead of the Trans-Tasman Twenty20 series, with fellow seamers Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan managing injuries.

Ball was due to fly home at the conclusion of the one-day campaign but made the trip from Perth to Canberra, where England face a warm-up against a Prime Minister’s XI on Friday.

The Nottinghamshire paceman, who has been on tour since October but played just one Ashes Test and one ODI, will be available if needed at the Manuka Oval but has not yet been formally added to the squad for the duration of the series against Australia and New Zealand.

England are expected to leave both out against the PM’s XI, meaning a likely pace attack of Mark Wood, David Willey and Tom Curran.

Ball suffered a dizzy spell and briefly left the field to receive medical attention when he played in the final match of the 4-1 series victory but there are no lingering concerns over his condition.

Opening batsman Alex Hales is also due to miss out in Canberra after hurting his hand when dropping a catch in the outfield in Perth.

England are hopeful, though not certain, all three of their walking wounded will be ready for the series proper but Hales’ absence means the trio of Sam Billings, Dawid Malan and James Vince will play initially.

Billings and Malan were non-playing members of the triumphant ODI squad, while Vince has been on duty in Australia’s Big Bash since his underwhelming performance in the Ashes.

“I’ve watched quite a bit of the one-day series out here on the TV and they’ve gone from strength to strength,” said Vince.

“To beat Australia in Australia, especially after an Ashes defeat, is a great response. There are a few new faces in this squad but we’ll try to take the momentum into this series.”