LONDON, UK — England’s chances of winning the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy have taken a big hit because ace all-rounder and captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test against India because of an injury to his right shoulder. Vice-captain Ollie Pope will now lead the English team in the important match that will begin on Thursday, July 31, at The Oval.
Stokes, who has been playing incredibly well throughout the series, confirmed the news on Wednesday, saying that he had “a decent tear of one of the muscles” in his shoulder. “We obviously took as much time as we could to make that choice.” Stokes told reporters, “Of course, you feel a little emotional when you find out what you’ve done.” He stressed that the choice was made to save more harm from happening: “It was one of those times when I had to weigh the risk against the reward, and the risk was way too high for damaging this any more than it already is.” An injury like this shouldn’t put any of my other teammates in danger.
Stokes was selected Player of the Match in both the third and fourth Tests for his amazing all-around efforts, so his absence is a huge blow for England. He has scored 304 runs in the four Tests played so far, including a century in Manchester, and he has taken the most wickets in the series, with 17 at an average of 25.24, including a key five-wicket haul. His condition got worse during the long Indian innings in the fourth Test, when he had to bowl 35 overs over two innings and clearly had trouble with his shoulder.
England Makes Four Changes to Their Starting XI
England has made three more changes to their bowling attack for the series finale, in addition to Stokes’ forced absence. Also out are fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, as well as spinner Liam Dawson.
Jofra Archer, who came back to the team before the Lord’s Test, only played in two matches this series. He took nine wickets in four innings, with an average of 28.66, which helped England win the third Test by 22 runs. Reports say that Archer has been having trouble with his health and hurt his thumb earlier this year.
Brydon Carse has played in all four Tests thus far, taking nine wickets at an average of 60.88.
In the Manchester Test, Liam Dawson made his first Test outing since 2017 and claimed just one wicket.
England has brought in Jacob Bethell to address these gaps. He will bat at No. 6 and give them another spin option. To strengthen the pace attack, Surrey bowlers Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton join the team, along with Nottinghamshire quick Josh Tongue.
The England team for the Fifth Test against India is made up of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue.
The Oval: A Series on the Line
England is up in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 2-1 going into the last match. They won the first game in Leeds by a wide margin of five wickets and then won a nail-biter at Lord’s. The only time they lost was in the second Test at Birmingham, where India, headed by skipper Shubman Gill, won by a huge 336 runs. The fourth Test at Old Trafford finished in a hard-fought tie. India batted for five sessions to rescue the game.
The Oval has always been a tough place for India to play. India has only won two Test matches at the ground, the first in 1971 under Ajit Wadekar’s leadership and the second precisely 50 years later in 2021 under Virat Kohli. This number adds another level of interest to what should be a very exciting series finale. India will have to get past this historical disadvantage and take advantage of England’s injury problems to tie the series.