Ben Stokes rested as England announce their playing XI for ENG vs IND 5th Test
Ben Stokes rested as England announce their playing XI for ENG vs IND 5th Test.
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England will be without their regular Test captain, Ben Stokes, for the fifth and final Test of the summer against India at the Kennington Oval in South London. The series stands at 2-1 ahead for the home side. Ollie Pope replaces Stokes with the leadership duties after the all-rounder got ruled out with a biceps tendon injury. Apart from this, they have decided to rest Jofra Archer.
Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse will take a break after their heavy workloads with the bat, while Liam Dawson has been left out. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root will be the two spin-bowling options on a surface known to help them. Chris Waokes is retained to lead an inexperienced pace bowling attack.
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The two Surrey players, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton, make their way back into the side along with Josh Tongue. Stokes, who bowlers 11 overs on the final day with a hamstring and shoulder injury, explained that he was struggling with a biceps tendon injury in his right upper arm. It’s later understood to be a grade three tea which ruled him out of the decider.
England rest Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for ENG vs IND 5th Test against India
Ben’s injury will be a massive blow for the Three Lions given that the right-arm pacer is the leading wicket-taker of the series with 17 scalps besides scoring his first century in two years in Manchester. But it’s also a concern as the Ashes 2025/26 trip down under is getting near this winter.
The 27-year-old Atkinson, who picked up a hamstring injury during the one-off Zimbabwe Test, has returned to the eleven after playing for Surrey’s second XI side. In 12 Tests, he has bagged 55 wickets at an average of 22.30 and has drilled 352 runs at a strike rate of nearly 80 with a century at Lord’s.
The pitch is expected to be a seam-friendly. Moreover, Surrey have not fielded any frontline spinner in most of their County games in the last couple of seasons. That shows the reason to leave Dawson and get Bethell in the eleven.
England’s playing XI for fifth Test against India
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wicket-keeper), Chris Woakes, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, and Josh Tongue.
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