Injured Ben Stokes Out of Fifth Test; England Rests Archer and Carse
London, UK: England will be without their captain, Ben Stokes, for Thursday’s fifth Test against India at The Oval, as he has been ruled out with a torn shoulder muscle. Ollie Pope will step in to deputize as captain for the fifth time in Tests. England has made four changes to their side following the draw in Manchester, bringing in Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue.
Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse are being rested due to heavy workloads in the previous Test, while Liam Dawson has been left out entirely. Joe Root and Jacob Bethell will serve as the two spin-bowling options. Chris Woakes is tasked with leading an inexperienced seam attack, as the other three fast bowlers in the XI collectively have only 18 Test caps.
Stokes arrived at The Oval hoping to play as a specialist batter but, after discussions with head coach Brendon McCullum and the medical team, made the difficult decision not to play through the pain. “The risk was way too high for damaging this any further than it currently is,” Stokes said, expressing his deep disappointment.
Injury Details and Recovery Timeline
While England has not disclosed the exact nature of the injury, it’s understood that Stokes has a grade-three tear in a shoulder muscle, which will require at least six weeks for recovery. He was not scheduled for any further cricket this summer and is confident he will be fully recovered before England’s first Ashes Test in Australia on November 21.
Stokes bowled 11 overs on the final day of the Manchester Test, visibly struggling and clutching his shoulder during his spells. Despite initially stating it was “very unlikely” he would miss the fifth Test, he woke up “pretty sore” the following morning, and scans confirmed the significant tear. This injury is a major blow for both England and Stokes personally; he is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 17, recently scored his first Test century in two years in Manchester, and has been named Player of the Match in the last two Tests. It’s another frustrating setback following two hamstring tears in the latter half of last year.
Stokes insisted he could not have prevented the injury, stating his commitment to winning and pushing himself for the team. He also suggested that playing at The Oval could have aggravated the injury to a worrying extent, emphasizing that injuries are an unavoidable part of professional sport.
Team Selection Strategy and Concerns
England was already planning to go into the fifth Test without a specialist spinner, given Dawson’s wicketless 47 overs in the second innings at Manchester. They expect a seamer-dominated match at The Oval, with a healthy covering of live grass on the pitch. Stokes confirmed this strategy: “The Oval generally plays that it’s your seamers who take the wickets… We wanted to give ourselves four seamers.”
Stokes’ absence means Jacob Bethell will bat at No. 6. Bethell, who scored three half-centuries at No. 3 in his maiden series in New Zealand last year, is seen as a versatile player.
The seam attack, however, is England’s biggest area of concern. Woakes has bowled a career-high 167 overs this series. Atkinson returns from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since May. Overton earns his second cap and first in three years, while Tongue returns to the XI after missing the third and fourth Tests.
Stokes will remain with the squad this week, similar to when he missed four Tests due to injury last year. Pope, his vice-captain, will again lead on his home ground and aims to learn from his previous struggles in balancing batting and captaincy.
“We know that the series is still on the line here,” Stokes affirmed. “It’s been toe-to-toe throughout the whole series so far. We know that India will be coming out fighting, because they don’t want to leave England with a loss. The next best thing for them is a draw, so we’ll be doing everything in our powers to not let that happen.”
England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Jamie Overton, 11 Josh Tongue.
