Ben Stokes’ shoulder injury on Wednesday dealt a severe blow to England as he was ruled out of the fifth and final Test match against India at The Oval, which begins on July 31. Stokes will be replaced by Ollie Pope as the team’s captain.
In addition to Stokes, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, and Jofra Archer will not be available for England in the fifth Test. Archer played in his first Test series for England in four years, while spinner Dawson returned to the field in Manchester after an eight-year absence.
Along with bowlers Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue, England has made four changes to its lineup, with the addition of Jacob Bethell, who will bat at number six.
“I am obviously disappointed. I have got a decent tear in the right shoulder. Weighing up the risk and reward and the risk was way too high for the damage caused. I’ll start rehabbing now and start to focus on what we have coming up in the winter,” Stokes said on Wednesday.
Stokes has been England’s most productive player throughout the Test series against India. With a century in the Manchester Test, the all-rounder amassed 304 runs in four games. That same Test ended in a draw, and he also took a fifer. England is ahead 2-1 in the series.
With 17 wickets, Stokes has been the best bowler in the series thus far. At The Oval, Bethell will be England’s only front-line spinner because Dawson is also sidelined.
Atkinson, who took Archer’s spot in the starting lineup, is making his Test comeback for the first time since the one-time match against Zimbabwe earlier this year. After playing the first two Test matches, Tongue was benched for the third and fourth matches.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue
