Cricket: Jake Ball out of England’s first Test against South Africa and Notts’ final

Jake Ball has been ruled out of England’s first Test against South Africa next week with a knee strain, his Nottinghamshire coach Peter Moores has confirmed. He will also miss Notts’ Royal London One-Day Cup final against Surrey at Lord’s on Saturday.

The seamer felt pain in his knee when bowling during the second innings of Nottinghamshire’s County Championship match against Kent at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

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He went for a scan on Wednesday to assess the damage and was unable to take the field when the third day of the day-night match resumed after a rain delay.

Ball is set to be out of action for a fortnight, which will mean missing the opening Test against South Africa, which starts at Lord’s on 6 July.

“Jake is naturally very, very disappointed to miss out on the final, having previously been made available to play by the ECB, particularly after missing out on selection when Notts beat Glamorgan at Lord’s in 2013,” said Moores.

“He’s given his all in this competition when he’s been available to us, and we’ll miss him for what will be a really tough game against Surrey. Jake is a very strong character and I’m sure he’ll bounce back from this.”