Sam Cook called up to England Lions squad as Gleeson, Gregory and Mahmood ruled out

​Essex seamer Sam Cook has been called up to the England Lions squad for the final two four-day matches on the tour of Australia.

Cook, who took 32 wickets for the Specsavers County Championship winners in 2019, has been playing grade cricket in Melbourne for Prahan CC. He is called up as cover for the Lions, who have lost three seamers to injury ahead of the match against Australia A at the MCG, starting under floodlights on Saturday.

Richard Gleeson has returned to the UK after suffering a soft tissue-related injury to his right shoulder while bowling in the four-day match against Cricket Australia XI in Hobart on Sunday.

Captain Lewis Gregory is also ruled out of the Melbourne match after suffering a low grade calf injury while bowling in Hobart. Neither player took the field for the final two days, with the match ending in a high-scoring draw.

Meanwhile, Saqib Mahmood has not joined the Lions after experiencing a sore knee during England’s IT20 series against South Africa and has returned to the UK.

Keaton Jennings, one of the Lions’ three centurions against CA XI, will captain the side in Gregory’s absence.

ENDS