Latest news with #series
The Sun
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Why is Ben Stokes not playing for England in the final test against India?
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes is set to MISS the fifth and decisive England vs India test. England currently lead the thrilling series 2-1, with a final test at The Oval set to get going TODAY. 3 3 The series got going in June, with England winning the first test by five wickets, before India won the second by 336 runs. England then won a thrilling third test by 22 runs, with Mohammed Siraj clipping a ball that rolled back onto his stumps for the fifth and final wicket. Jofra Archer has made a triumphant return to the international setup this summer, but he too misses out on the final test squad. The fourth test ended in a draw, with India 425/4 when the two sides shook hands on day five of the test. SunSport can reveal why Ben Stokes is not playing in the fifth and final test. Why is Ben Stokes not playing for England vs India? Captain Ben Stokes is out of the fifth England vs India test due to a shoulder injury. Stokes is expected to be out of action for around six to seven weeks. The all-rounder has struggled with a number of fitness issues throughout the series. He will be replaced by Jacob Bethell in the side, with Ollie Pope captaining the side against India. England currently lead the series 2-1 heading into the final test, with the fourth test at Old Trafford ending in a draw. For the hosts, another draw would be good enough to walk home with the series win.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Stokes pushes the limit and gives England a peak into their nightmare'
Five overs, in case you're have been five overs of actual cricket in the time we've had a row about shaking hands, a Royal Rumble on the Oval square and a national state of emergency over another part of Ben Stokes' two of those incidents are little more than storms in teacups, one is anything but. Of all the possible combinations England could have fielded for the decisive final Test against India from Thursday, the absence of Stokes did not feature high on the list of announcement of the team on Wednesday was a jaw-dropping moment, mainly for the stark reality of what a Stokesless England team looks stakes are high here – a first series win against India since 2018 and first in a five-Test series against anyone in the same timeframe are up for grabs – and will be even higher in England's following Test, in Perth in it is an unthinkable blow to lose their talisman for this game, it also leaves England peering into their worst nightmare: taking on Australia in Australia without Ben Stokes. Depending how that series goes, there is an outside chance he has played his last Test in this again, Stokes has pushed himself beyond his limit. In 2021 it was surgery on a shattered finger, two years later an operation to sort out his left knee. There were two separate hamstring injuries in 2024, the latter requiring surgery. Now it is a grade-three muscle tear in a right shoulder he also injured playing in the Indian Premier League in has been sensational in this series, player of the match in each of the past two Tests and probably the difference between two evenly matched 17 wickets he has taken and 140 overs he has bowled are the most in a single series across his career. He has outbowled the great Jasprit Bumrah and regularly carried the England attack on his direct hit run out of Rishabh Pant in the third Test at Lord's changed the course of the match that ultimately gave England their 2-1 lead. His hundred at Old Trafford was a first in two years and made him only the fourth England man to register a five-wicket haul and century in the same it has come at a cost, raising the question of how much is too much, even for a superman like Stokes. As far back as 2018, then-England coach Trevor Bayliss was pleading with Stokes to look after himself, particularly when it came to his maniacal training habits. Now, as a 34-year-old, Stokes has toned down the training, still there is nothing that can hold him back in the heat of half a Ben Stokes all of the time better than a whole Ben Stokes half of the time? It's a moot point, simply because Stokes is incapable of reining it were in a similar situation last year, when Stokes suffered his first hamstring injury. He missed four Tests, the fourth of which was the first on the tour of Pakistan. Stokes' effort to get fit made him insular and grumpy, eventually taking it out on the team on the field in Multan, for which he later apologised. The hope is he has learned from that experience, and will not be weighed down at the beginning of the Ashes now, he will remain with the England team, once again led by Ollie Pope. There is a larger room in the England hotel set aside for the captain, which Stokes has not given over to Pope. That probably says plenty about who remains in is one of four changes from the Old Trafford Test, leaving an odd-looking England team. Out go the weary Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, as well as spinner Liam Dawson, whose comeback after eight years in the wilderness lasted one match. It turns out Dawson is not the second coming of Daniel Vettori, and he is scrapping with Rehan Ahmed for a place on the Ashes come Jacob Bethell, who has played only one red-ball match in seven months; Gus Atkinson, one club game and one second XI fixture since May; and Jamie Overton, four first-class matches since September 2023. Josh Tongue is back after being dropped for the third Test. At 36, Chris Woakes plays all five injuries, workloads and selection decisions, England have been backed into a corner over their bowling attack. Along with those that have been driven into the ground over the past few weeks, Mark Wood and Shoaib Bashir are on the shelf, and Matthew Potts has disappeared from the Test Cook might have been useful on an Oval greentop, but looks to have been judged on a disappointing debut against Zimbabwe. Josh Hull played here last year and has not been seen since. Lancashire's Luke Wood was whispered about earlier in the summer. Maybe England should knock on the Sky commentary box and ask Stuart Broad to lace his boots won three out of four matches when Pope took charge last year, though the defeat did come here against Sri Lanka, one of the worst performances in the Bazball home side will instead be hoping for a repeat of 2023, the final Ashes Test. Back then, England arrived at The Oval on the back of a frustrating draw in Manchester, which could have turned momentum against them. They needed to win to square the series and duly did. Although India are set to be without Bumrah, they have won the other Test in this series in which he did not play. They will be buoyed by their escape at Old Trafford, which captain Shubman Gill said felt like a at the end of that fifth day have been pored over, probably because there was little excitement generated by the cricket teams had an understandable point of view. India were within their rights to want Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to reach centuries, while England can't be blamed for wanting to get off at the earliest opportunity after five sessions in the field. Still, there wasn't much sign of the humility Brendon McCullum asked for at the beginning of the Gill accused England of acting against the spirit of cricket during the third Test at Lord's. Quite how Gautam Gambhir's words to Oval groundsman Lee Fortis on Tuesday fit into the spirit of cricket is the high jinx have caught the attention of those in Australia, who have put the sandpaper down long enough to have their say on England's morals. If such tales are catnip down under, any doubts over Stokes' fitness will put a further spring in the baggy green is respected and feared by the Australians, even though he has not been at his chest-beating best on three previous tours there. There is a now a 114-day wait to see what sort of Stokes takes the field in the first Ashes then, there is a series for England to win, one that would rank among their best under Stokes, albeit with the skipper unable to see it started nearly seven weeks ago comes down to this. Gill and Joe Root. Bumrah and Archer. Bashir's finger and Pant's toe. Stokes and no Stokes. Handshakes and handbags. What a last dance.
New York Times
21 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
England captain Ben Stokes out of fifth India Test: What his absence means, expected injury timeframe
England must attempt to clinch a series victory against India without their captain after Ben Stokes was ruled out of the final Test with a serious shoulder injury. Stokes, 34, will miss Thursday's fifth and final game at the Oval after the shoulder problem he suffered while bowling in the fourth Test at Old Trafford was diagnosed as a grade three tear that will keep him out for between six and 10 weeks. Advertisement The England captain remains confident he will be fit to lead his side in Australia this winter, where the first Ashes Test begins in Perth on November 21 but for now, his side must tackle India without the man who has been at his all-round best throughout the series. 'We took as long as we could to take the decision,' said Stokes at the Oval on the eve of the final Test of a series led 2-1 by England. 'There was a bit of emotion that comes into this kind of stuff when you find out what you've done. 'I came here this morning seeing if I could play as a specialist batter but it's about weighing up the risk-reward and the risk was too high for damaging this any further. I wouldn't expect to put any of my players at risk with an injury like this. 'I'll start rehabbing now and focus on what we've got coming up this winter. It helps that we've got a really good squad and we will put a team out there we think can win this Test.' That England team is much changed at the end of a gruelling series which has seen each of the four Tests go to the final session of the final day and has left both sides injury-hit and exhausted. Jofra Archer misses out after playing two Tests in a row following an absence of four and a half years from first-class cricket, while Brydon Carse is also rested after playing in all four Tests. There is also no place for left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, who took just one wicket on his return to the side at Old Trafford after an eight-year absence and misses out now because England want four seamers in Stokes' absence on a green-looking Oval pitch. Gus Atkinson finally returns after injuring his hamstring in the first Test of the summer against Zimbabwe, while Josh Tongue is back for the first time since the second Test at Edgbaston and Jamie Overton comes in for only his second Test. Only Chris Woakes remains from England's fourth Test attack. Advertisement There is also a Test debut for talented batter Jacob Bethell, who will bat at six in Stokes' place and also can provide left-arm spin to augment a new-look seam attack. Stokes will remain with the side to support his deputy Ollie Pope, who takes charge of the side. It is a desperate blow for England to be without Stokes at the Oval because he has been at the absolute peak of his form both with the ball, where he has become the leading wicket-taker in the series, and also now with the bat after scoring a hundred at Old Trafford. The England captain is simply irreplaceable but he is absolutely right to miss out now and rest a body that has endured surgery on both his knee and hamstring in recent years because England's chances in the Ashes this winter are so dependent on him. There are still 14 weeks to go before the first Test against Australia in Perth so Stokes, who expects six or seven weeks of rehab, really should be fine for that but his fitness will once again dominate the build-up to the biggest series of them all. For now, a patched-up England will take on a bristling India side with a new-look attack and a debutant batter in Bethell, who has yet to make a century in professional cricket. Only Woakes remains as England believe he will be their best chance of gaining swing and seam movement with the new ball on a green-looking Oval pitch, which has seen the last 20 captains winning the toss in first-class cricket decide to bowl first. The look of a surface prepared by groundsman Lee Fortis, who clashed with India coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday partly over the amount of grass on it, has convinced England to go in without a specialist spinner, as Surrey have done this season here. But Dawson may well have bowled himself out of his unexpected chance to go to Australia for the Ashes with his performance at Old Trafford, which saw him go wicketless in 47 second-innings overs on a last-day pitch. Injured off-spinner Shoaib Bashir had his best week as an England player without even playing.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Cardinals take on the Marlins in series rubber match
Miami Marlins (51-55, third in the NL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (55-54, fourth in the NL Central) St. Louis; Wednesday, 7:45 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Cal Quantrill (3-8, 5.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 74 strikeouts); Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (6-7, 4.94 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 70 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cardinals -148, Marlins +123; over/under is 8 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins play on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series. St. Louis has a 32-23 record in home games and a 55-54 record overall. The Cardinals have the sixth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .250. Miami has a 51-55 record overall and a 27-26 record in road games. The Marlins have the fourth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .252. Wednesday's game is the third time these teams match up this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Alec Burleson has a .286 batting average to lead the Cardinals, and has 19 doubles and 14 home runs. Masyn Winn is 12 for 37 with seven RBIs over the last 10 games. Xavier Edwards has 16 doubles, three triples and a home run for the Marlins. Kyle Stowers is 13 for 34 with five doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, .237 batting average, 4.34 ERA, outscored by 11 runs Marlins: 6-4, .241 batting average, 2.55 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs INJURIES: Cardinals: John King: day-to-day (oblique), Nolan Gorman: 10-Day IL (back), Lars Nootbaar: 10-Day IL (ribs), Zack Thompson: 60-Day IL (lat) Marlins: Derek Hill: 10-Day IL (finger), Jesus Tinoco: 60-Day IL (forearm), Connor Norby: 10-Day IL (wrist), Max Meyer: 60-Day IL (hip), Ryan Weathers: 60-Day IL (lat), Griffin Conine: 60-Day IL (arm), Andrew Nardi: 60-Day IL (back), Braxton Garrett: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Our experts pick their England teams for India series decider
England travel to the Oval with the series still on the line after a draw at Old Trafford. Our cricket experts pick the XI they would like to see take on India in the fifth Test. Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Overton, Atkinson, Archer, Tongue. It is harsh to leave out Liam Dawson but pitches at the Oval suit seam and we do not know how many overs Ben Stokes is going to be capable of bowling at full pelt. Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue give England fresh legs and allow them to use Jofra Archer in very short bursts. Overton's batting – he scored 97 in his only Test so far – replaces Dawson's and India looked very comfortable playing the left-arm spinner. Atkinson and Tongue in Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Dawson, Woakes, Atkinson, Tongue. A 15-man squad indicates that England are not exactly sure what they want – or, more pertinently, who will be fit. Archer and Brydon Carse both look in need of a break; England omitting Sam Cook from the squad suggests that they believe Chris Woakes will be OK. Woakes also has a fine record at the Oval and gives England a batting line-up of rare depth, with Test centurion Gus Atkinson at No 10. For now, broader debates about the future of the side – most notably whether Jamie Smith should play as a specialist batsman – can wait. All-seam attack Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Woakes, Atkinson, Carse, Tongue. It has got to be a three-day green-top, which Surrey have been known to engineer, for some good old-fashioned, ugly, seam-based dogfighting. Stokes, whether he can bowl or not, and four seamers, no spinner (and if you are going to pick a spinner, pick Jack Leach, not Dawson, because he can bat). India do not have the reserve seamers to compete in this sort of game: their main reserve, Prasidh Krishna, bowls too short of a length for this sort of contest. Who England's four seamers are depends on their fitness, if any after four hard-slog Tests, but assuming Archer cannot play for medical reasons, and it is a seam-fest (although Surrey will want five days of receipts) my bowling attack would retain Carse and Woakes. Will Macpherson: Stick with Dawson Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Dawson, Atkinson, Archer, Tongue. In the last 18 first-class games at the Oval, the team who won the toss has bowled first. The pattern is nibble early on, then good for batting on day two and three. Surrey seldom pick a spinner, so I was tempted to leave out Dawson, not least because the seamers are either undercooked or completely knackered. But I'm giving him one more game, partly because they will need him to hold up an end. It is too early to know for sure which of the seamers will be fit, but I am definitely bringing in the fresher legs of Atkinson and Tongue. Then it is the question of which of the three survives. Carse has run his race, and I thought Archer actually looked the freshest of the three. If he is good to go, he plays. If not, Woakes stays, not Overton, because I don't want an all-changed attack.
