England have suffered a significant setback with captain Ben Stokes ruled out of the fifth and final Test against India, set to begin on Thursday, July 31, at The Kia Oval in London. The all-rounder sustained an injury to his right shoulder, prompting the team to name Ollie Pope as stand-in captain for the final match of the series.
The hosts have made a total of four changes to the lineup that played in the Manchester Test. Stokes had been England’s standout bowler at Old Trafford, claiming six wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Despite delivering persistent spells in both innings, he appeared to be in pain during his second stint with the ball.
With the Ashes looming later this year, England appear to be prioritizing his long-term fitness and workload management. Spin-bowling all-rounder Jacob Bethell has been named as Ben Stokes’ replacement in the playing XI.
Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, and Brydon Carse have also been left out, as England have opted for a pace-heavy attack featuring Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue, with no specialist spinner included. Overton and Atkinson are set to make their first appearances of the series. The selectors have taken a cautious approach with Jofra Archer, who has only recently made his return to Test cricket.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.
“Highly Unlikely I’ll Miss Oval Test”- Ben Stokes
After bowling 140 overs and claiming 17 wickets in the series, the star all-rounder expressed following the Manchester Test that he was almost certain to feature in the Oval clash. As per the BBC, he remarked that it was “highly unlikely” he would miss the game.
“I don’t want to eat my words, but the likelihood I won’t play is very unlikely. It’s been a pretty big workload so far in this series. It was another big week in the third Test at Lord’s, the same again this week. Pain is just an emotion, so it’s just one of those things.”
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