Big Change Loading In England XI vs India For Lord's Test? Dinesh Karthik Picks Star To Replace Ollie Pope
Pope's inconsistency has raised questions despite his century in the series opener. He managed just eight runs in the second innings at Headingley, followed by a golden duck and a laboured 24 at Edgbaston, as England crashed to a 336-run defeat.
Karthik believes Bethell's flexibility makes him a standout candidate. 'Bethell, you can almost bat him anywhere from No. 3 to No. 7, he is ready. In the IPL, we picked him in such a way that he has the flexibility to open, bat at three, or even middle of the order.'
'What I really liked about him was his ability to absorb information and quickly transfer it to his game. Very young, very hungry, and most of all, he is extremely dedicated towards the sport. He is single-minded and wants to do well in life and become the best—if you have that as your goal, you can't go wrong,' he said.
While the focus remains on Bethell's potential, England's captain Ben Stokes is facing growing scrutiny. After a tactical decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah backfired spectacularly for India in the first Test, India captain Shubman Gill responded with a double hundred (269) and 161 at Edgbaston to lead his side to a historic victory.
This has intensified the pressure on Stokes, who has yet to make a significant impact with the bat in the series.
'Now Stokes has to do all that thinking and has to get some runs, let's be honest,' said Nasser Hussain. 'The opposition captain is getting a shedload of runs, and Stokes' run-getting has fallen away. So, he is under a bit of pressure,' he said.
Still, Hussain praised Stokes' leadership and emotional intelligence. 'England players love playing for Ben Stokes, but he is also tough. I spoke to Jurgen Klopp and asked what leadership is about, and he said it is about being their friend but not being their best friend. I think Stokes has got that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
37 minutes ago
- NDTV
India Women vs England Women 4th T20I Live Score Updates
India Women vs England Women 4th T20I Live Updates: Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian cricket team will aim to seal the five-match T20I series when it takes on England Women in the fourth match at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. India started the series with a dominant 97-run victory at Nottingham before registering a 24-run win at Bristol. England Women then won the third game by 5 runs at London to keep the series alive. India will hope Smriti Mandhana, Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma to continue their impressive form in the series. The side will also hope Harmanpreet to take her innings deep. (Live Scorecard) India vs England, Women's 4th T20I Live - ! Welcome back with India's response with the bat. The umpires and the players are out in the middle. Tammy Beaumont leads her women out as the English players spread out to their respective fielding positions. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma are the two Indian openers. The experienced Lauren Bell to get the chase underway with the ball. Smriti to face. Here we go... ! ... THE RUN CHASE ... ! Right then, in a do-or-die match for the hosts, they will have to bowl their skins out to stop India from claiming the series. Sure, it's an uphill task, but it is doable. We have seen the ball holding up on the pitch and that's where the likes of Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean might come into play. However, with the consistent Indian top order, they will need to pick up early wickets and of course, a win will be guaranteed with all ten wickets taken. Back in a bit for the chase. Stay tuned. ! The Indians used spin to full effect, and the bowlers kept the stumps in play, not offering anything to free the arms. The pacers, too, employed those slower ones to make optimal use of the pitch, which kept the batters tied up. In that 7-15 overs phase, England only scored 56 runs while losing three wickets. Overall, the batters did get starts but couldn't hang in there till the end. Sophie Ecclestone and Issy Wong at last provided the finishing touches and helped England to get above a run-a-ball and something for the bowlers to fight for. ! England were not express by any means, and the batters struggled to find the right timing. However, they found a stable partnership between Alice Capsey and skipper Tammy Beaumont. The two worked hard to steer England out of trouble. The Indians, on the other hand, continued to be sharp in the field. Just when the partnership was blossoming into something meaningful, and as one brings two, England slipped further down from 68/2 to 70/4, losing Beaumont and Capsey in just a few deliveries. ! The start for the hosts was far from ideal as the opening woes for England resurfaced. The pitch was on the slower side and the ball was holding up a bit on the deck as well and Harmanpreet Kaur was quick to spot that and deployed the spin trio. Shree Charani provided the first breakthrough and continued her dream run in the series. England, in an attempt to make the most of the Powerplay, lost both their openers and crawled their way to 38/2. ! A late flourish for England in the last over, but still, in all fairness, way below par on the board. A job well done by the Indians with the ball as they used the conditions perfectly to keep the batters at bay. Just four overs went above the single digits for the hosts, and that pretty much sums up their day with the bat, in a must-win match. 19.6 6 Deepti Sharma to Issy Wong SIX! How is that for a finish? A long hop from Deepti, over leg stump, Issy Wong goes deep in the crease, makes room and muscles the pull in front of deep square leg for a six. 16 runs off the over and England Women finish with 126/7 on the board! 19.5 1 Deepti Sharma to Sophie Ecclestone Oh, that's a bit too cheeky! Bowled into the pitch and at the pads again, this time Ecclestone looks to reverse sweep and awkwardly plays it towards cover for a single. 19.4 6 Deepti Sharma to Sophie Ecclestone SIX! Oh, there you go! Sophie Ecclestone with a bit of fireworks on her home ground and in her 100th T20I game. Floated up around middle and leg, Ecclestone makes a bit of room and swings it away, with the wind and over deepmid-wicket for a biggie. 19.3 1 Deepti Sharma to Issy Wong Shortish length on middle, pulled away down to wide long on for one more. 19.2 1 Deepti Sharma to Sophie Ecclestone Full and on leg, Ecclestone picks it up nd sweeps it flat and on the bounce to Amanjot Kaur at deep backward square leg. Just another single. 19.1 1 Deepti Sharma to Issy Wong Slow and short, angled into leg, Wong backs away and taps it straight to cover but manages to scamper through for a single. ! Deepti Sharma (3-0-13-1) to bowl the final over then. 18.6 4 Amanjot Kaur to Sophie Ecclestone FOUR! A much-needed boundary, but still just 5 off the over. Fuller in length, angling into the pads, Ecclestone hangs back and clips it away over square leg and picks the huge gap between deep mid-wicket and deep backward square leg to perfection. 18.5 0 Amanjot Kaur to Sophie Ecclestone Oh, that will leave a mark! Shorter in length and over middle, Sophie Ecclestone looks to swivel and pull but misses and gets hit on the mid riff. 18.4 1 Amanjot Kaur to Issy Wong A low full toss, on the pads, flicked away through backward square leg for a single. 18.3 0 Amanjot Kaur to Issy Wong A hat-trick of dots! Fractionally short and wide, cut away in front of square and just short of covers where the fielder makes a half stop. Ecclestone again denies the single. 18.2 0 Amanjot Kaur to Issy Wong Bowled into the pitch and outside off, smacked away to extra cover and Wong again wants the single which isn't there. 18.1 0 Amanjot Kaur to Issy Wong Back of a length, darting into the batter, Wong can't quite get it away and nudges it towards leg gully and looks for the run but the keeper is onto the ball in a flash.
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
"Jof is going to be pretty proud of himself...": Skipper Stokes on pacer's return in Lord's Test
London [UK], July 9 (ANI): Ahead of the third Test against India at Lord's, England skipper Ben Stokes expressed excitement over pacer Jofra Archer's return, saying that the pacer must be proud of himself to bring himself back into the Test set-up after a gap of four years following injury scares. With the series one-piece each following India's 336-run hammering to England at Edgbaston, England made a massive change to their line-up, putting Archer on the playing eleven sheet for his first Test in four years. Archer, 30, returns to the Test setup for the first time since February 2021. Known for his express pace, Archer's inclusion is expected to bolster England's relatively inexperienced bowling attack, which has lacked bite in patches during the ongoing series. Recently, he made a red-ball return at first-class level for Sussex before joining up with the England squad for the second Test against India in Birmingham. Ahead of the match, Stokes said as quoted by Sky Sports, 'Really exciting. I think it is great for English fans, but also for Jof. It has been a long time coming for him. The way in which he has handled injury setbacks over that period has been very commendable, and the way in which he has got himself back onto the field and playing cricket over a long period of time now, it is exciting to have him back.' 'I think Jof is going to be pretty proud of himself that he has managed to get himself back here after two pretty big injury scares,' he added. Stokes also said that there are no plans to limit Archer's workload during the match. 'There is definitely going to be no preconceived ideas around he is only bowling spells of four or five, definitely not,' he said. 'We have had two tough games, a lot of time in the field, and got through some overs as a bowling unit. You get to this position here with back-to-back Test matches, and you feel it is the right time to get some fresh legs in, and it was exciting that we had the ability to be able to call on someone like Jof,' he added. Stokes noted that whenever Archer has a ball in hand, there is a change in the game. 'The opposition feels it as well because they know what he can do in a spell. I do not think there is any reason why we cannot see Jofra Archer operating at a level like we have seen here at Lord's on his debut,' he added. Archer last played a Test match in February 2021, and has since battled multiple injuries. While he made a return to England's white-ball setup ahead of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has featured in ODIs and T20Is, his red-ball workload has been carefully managed. He has played 13 Tests, having taken 42 wickets. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
R Ashwin applies reverse psychology for Kuldeep Yadav to get picked for Lord's Test: 'I am saying he won't play'
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin applied reverse psychology while discussing Kuldeep Yadav's chances of making the XI for the third Test. Kuldeep hasn't had a chance to showcase his skills on English soil so far in the series. Despite support from various critics, team decisions led by Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill have favoured other spin options in the playing XI. Kuldeep Yadav was not picked in XI for the first two Tests.(Reuters) The Indian management went ahead with Washington Sundar for the Edgbaston Test to partner with Ravindra Jadeja and strengthen the lower batting order, which failed miserably in Leeds. Sundar justified his selection with a crucial knock with the bat in India's mammoth first innings total of 587. He scored a valuable 42 runs and stitched a crucial 144-run seventh-wicket partnership with captain Shubman Gill, who went on to score a double century. Ashwin, who had earlier advocated for Kuldeep's inclusion in the first two Tests, now appears to be using reverse psychology in a subtle bid to boost the spinner's chances of being selected for the Lord's Test. 'Kuldeep Yadav won't play. We have been saying this from the last two Tests that he should play. So, this time I am hitting reverse, which is why I am saying he won't play,' Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. Kuldeep made his Test debut in 2017, but since then, he has played only 13 Tests for India despite an impressive record of claiming 56 wickets at a strike rate of 37.3. 'Don't think Kuldeep finds a place in the XI' However, Ashwin suggested it would be extremely tough for Kuldeep to find a place as India won't look to tinker with the winning combination. "I don't think Kuldeep finds a place in the XI at this point in time. Sometimes, it's very unfortunate. We won the Test, so it is very difficult to change the winning combination. I think they will go with the same combination," he added. India will probably hold off on deciding whether to play Kuldeep Yadav in the Lord's Test. Team management is considering both conditions and team balance. The left-arm wrist-spinner has been close to selection this series, even with calls for him to play. However, Jasprit Bumrah's return, rested from the last match, significantly strengthens India's bowling before the key third Test.
