Stokes is injured and will miss the fifth Test against India. Archer and Carse are resting
Stokes is injured and will miss the fifth Test against India. Archer and Carse are resting
Injured skipper Ben Stokes will miss out on the game at The Oval due to a shoulder injury, while Archer has been rested.
England will head into the fifth Test at The Oval without their captain, Ben Stokes, who has a serious shoulder injury. Ollie Pope will take over as captain for the fifth time in his Test career. Four changes have been made to the squad since the last match in Manchester Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue have all joined the team.
Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse are getting a break due to heavy workloads, and Liam Dawson has been dropped. Bethell and Joe Root will handle spin duties, while Chris Woakes will lead a fairly inexperienced pace attack the three other fast bowlers have a total of just 18 Test matches between them.
Stokes came to The Oval hoping to play as a batter, but after consulting coach Brendon McCullum and the medical team and spending some time reflecting he chose not to take the risk. His injury is a grade-three tear in a shoulder muscle, and it’ll take around six weeks to recover. Stokes won’t play any more cricket this summer but expects to be fit in time for the Ashes starting in Australia on November 21.
Despite his strong efforts in the last Test, including 11 overs while in visible pain, scans confirmed the damage was worse than first thought. Stokes has been England’s top wicket-taker in this series and scored his first century in two years at Manchester. His absence is a big setback he was also named Player of the Match in the last two Tests and had faced injury issues last year too.
Stokes said he gave everything on the field and couldn’t have done anything to avoid the injury. He also mentioned that playing at The Oval might have made things worse. England adjusted their strategy once it was clear he wouldn’t bowl, opting to drop Dawson and field four seamers, as the pitch is expected to favour pace.
Bethell will bat at No. 6. Stokes praised him as a flexible player with experience in all formats. England’s fast bowling is a concern Woakes has bowled more overs in this series than ever before, and Atkinson is just returning from a hamstring injury. Overton earns his second cap after three years, and Tongue is back after being left out for Archer in the last two games.
Even though Stokes is injured, he’ll stay with the squad. Pope will lead England at his home ground and hopes to handle the dual responsibility of captain and player better than he did last time. The series is still open, and Stokes said India will fight hard to avoid a defeat. England is determined to finish strong and prevent a draw.