Ben Stokes will miss the final Test of England’s blockbuster series against India due to a torn muscle in his right shoulder.
The captain’s absence is one of four changes in England’s team for the match at the Oval.
Advertisement
England lead 2-1, but missed the chance to wrap up the series at Old Trafford on Sunday when India fought bravely for a draw across five sessions.
That has come at a cost too, with England’s three quickest bowlers ruled out.
Ollie Pope will captain England, with Jacob Bethell replacing Stokes at No 6 for his first home Test. The left-arm spinner Liam Dawson is squeezed out because of Stokes’s injury with Bethell and Joe Root to provide England’s spin options.
A brutal schedule also means that England’s two quickest bowlers, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, miss out, with Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue coming in. Jamie Overton, like Atkinson, will make his first appearance of the series. Atkinson has not played a first-class match since suffering a hamstring injury in the Test win over Zimbabwe in May, but will lead the attack alongside Chris Woakes, who is wheeled out for the fifth Test in a row.
Stokes has been carrying various injuries through the series but it has now emerged he has a grade three tear in his right shoulder. He appeared to pick up the shoulder problem during training on day five at Old Trafford, but still bowled 11 overs with it as England pushed for a win.
After carrying the drinks all series and a few stints on the field as 12th man, Jacob Bethell will start his first Test on home soil at the Oval on Thursday – Getty Images/Stu Forster
The injury is unlikely to affect his ability to play in this winter’s Ashes, but will likely rule him out for the remainder of the English summer.
Advertisement
India will also field a much-changed line-up, with Rishabh Pant out with a broken foot and Jasprit Bumrah expected to be rested. There is likely to be a debut for Arshdeep Singh, while Akash Deep should return. Their big selection question is whether to select the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in place of Shardul Thakur, the seam-bowling all-rounder.
Article courtesy of
Source link
