Ben Stokes insisted there were no regrets after ‘playing to win and giving everything I’ve got for England’ led to his withdrawal from the decisive final Test against India at The Oval.
Stokes, 34, has bowled more overs in this series than any across his 12-year Test career but the final 11 of 140 came after he experienced discomfort in his right shoulder on the final morning of the draw in Manchester last Sunday.
‘When I’m out on the field, I play to win and give everything I possibly can. If I feel there’s a moment in a game where I need to put everything I’m feeling aside I’ll do that – because it’s how much this team means to me, how much playing for England means to me, how much winning means to me,’ he said.
‘Being a professional sportsman, injuries are part of this game and I can’t do anything about that.’
He considered playing as a specialist batsman after scans showed he had incurred a grade three muscle tear during the final throes of the bore draw at Emirates Old Trafford, but opted to step down and begin what is expected to be a minimum of six weeks recovery immediately in a bid not to jeopardise his Ashes prospects.
After announcing four changes, England’s talismanic captain revealed ’20 minutes to myself’ clarified his thoughts, explaining: ‘Decisions like this are not straightforward, you have to let the emotion and all of that really settle in before you make a clear, firm decision.
Ben Stokes insisted he had no regrets over ‘giving everything’ for England
Captain Stokes withdrew from the decisive final Test against India at The Oval
‘I did turn up to training to try to give it a run to see if I could go as a batter, but when I was out there watching, the reality of the extent of the injury, risk and reward, it’s not something I think would be a sensible call to make considering how much worse it could be by going out there.’
Fatigue has clearly taken its toll on an England team – being captained by Ollie Pope on his home ground this week – leading a five-match series played over just seven weeks 2-1.
‘Could the gaps between the games be done a little better? You’ve had two eight and nine-day turnarounds and two three days, maybe you could look at making it all fives for every game so there’s consistency,’ Stokes questioned, after England gave their bowling attack a drastic makeover: fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse miss out to protect their long-term fitness while spinner Liam Dawson was omitted following a first Test appearance in eight years last week.
In come three fresh seamers in Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue while spin bowling all rounder Jacob Bethell is also recalled. Bethell’s Warwickshire teammate Chris Woakes retains his ever-present status, however. His series wickets have come at 52 runs apiece, better than Carse, and as a traditional seam bowling he will be encouraged by the grass covering here.
Stokes will remain in London to support his teammates but leaves the series from a playing perspective as its leading wicket-taker with 17. As Mail Sport reported last week, he was already skipping next month’s Hundred, and is unlikely to play a competitive match now until England take on Australia in Perth on November 21.
India, meanwhile, will make a decision on whether they select their attack spearhead Jasprit Bumrah after one final look at the Oval pitch on Thursday morning. India have consistently said Bumrah would only play three of the five matches, but with the series remaining live, his inclusion is something they are considering.
Ironically, it was a pre-match inspection of the playing surface that triggered the latest ruck in a spicy series, when Surrey groundsman Lee Fortis was the target of a finger-wagging India coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday.
Fortis had warned England’s support staff to carry and not drag their bags across the square, concerned about potential damage caused by boots and the bags’ wheels given that the Oval has already hosted 60 days of cricket this summer.
He bowled 11 overs after experiencing slight discomfort in his right shoulder at Old Trafford
The latest ruck in a spicy series saw Surrey groundsman Lee Fortis (pictured) become the target of a finger-wagging India coach Gautam Gambhir over the playing surface
But Gill insisted there was ‘no such instruction,’ to the tourists and ‘as long as you are wearing rubber spikes or you are barefoot, I think you can see the wicket closely.’
He added: ‘I thought it just absolutely unnecessary. A coach has every right to be able to go close quarters and have a look at the wicket. I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with that.’
Gambhir did not take kindly to the request to move away, with Indian media reporting that he told Fortis: ‘You don’t tell me what to do.’
Disruption for England, meanwhile, centres on the absence of Stokes. Since taking over as permanent Test captain, three of the four Tests he has missed have ended in victory.
The anomaly? Here at the Oval, against Sri Lanka, last September. England will hope Stokes’ preservation for the Australian challenge ahead does not represent the portents for another defeat.
