Jake Ball's injury leaves England with more fast bowling questions than answers ahead of South Africa series

Ball joins Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad on the sidelines and while James Anderson and Mark Wood are good to go they haven't many overs in the legs

Jake Ball's injury leaves England with something of a headache (Getty)

England are facing something of a fast bowling crisis after Jake Ball's knee injury left them with more questions than answers ahead of the Test series with South Africa.

The 26-year-old seamer suffered a strain against Kent that will see him miss Saturday's Royal London One-Day Cup final against Surrey as well as the first Test at Lord's that begins next Thursday.

Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores said: "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.

"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. I know he'll be wanting us to beat Surrey as much as anybody."

Ball joins Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad on the sidelines and while his Nottinghamshire teammate could yet be fit enough to feature against the tourists he would do so after a lengthy period out.

James Anderson and Mark Wood are good to go but they too haven't many overs in the legs leaving England potentially undercooked in the bowling department ahead of the visit of the Proteas.​

Middlesex's Toby Roland-Jones could be the next man in line for an England squad place, but three three-day Lions matches against South Africa offer chances for others to make a late case.

England are blessed with enviable strength in depth which is no doubt a nice problem to have, but it's a problem nonetheless and one that must be addressed over the next seven days.