Crawley to miss start of India series after 'freak incident'

England batsman Zak Crawley will miss the first two tests of the series against India after slipping on a marble floor outside the team's locker room and spraining his right wrist.What England captain Joe Root described as a “freak incident” happened on Tuesday, and Crawley hasn't trained since.

Scans showed a sprain and inflammation in the joint, ruling the No. 3 batsman out of the first test starting on Friday and the second match of the four-test series also in Chennai.England has since taken measures to ensure the same thing doesn't happen to another player.

“It’s really frustrating for Zak and hard for him to take," Root said.

It’s not something you first think about when you turn up to a ground, trying not to fall over.We initially just put some towels down and since then they’ve put something more substantial down. We know we’ve got to be careful.

Crawley’s misfortune is likely to prove good news for Dan Lawrence, who made his test debut in the series win in Sri Lanka last month but was expecting to drop out following the returns of Rory Burns, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope.Lawrence could be asked to take a turn at No. 3, leaving Root and Stokes to occupy their preferred slots at Nos. 4 and 5, with Pope coming back at No. 6 following his recovery from a dislocated shoulder.