Injured captain Ben Stokes ruled out of fifth test against India as England make 4 changes

Associated Press

3 days ago

LONDON (AP) — England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth and final test against India with a right shoulder injury.
Ollie Pope, who bats at No. 3, will replace Stokes as captain for the test at the Oval in London, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday.
Play begins Thursday, with India trailing 2-1 in the series and needing a win to draw.
The 34-year-old Stokes was back to his inspirational best as an allrounder in last week's drawn fourth test, taking five wickets with some brilliant hostile and accurate spells, and finding his batting form again with an authoritative knock of 141 for his long-awaited 14th test century.
He became England's fourth player to get five wickets and a century in a test. Stokes is the leading wicket taker across both teams with 17 — three more than Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with a lower average than both.
But bowling long spells clearly took its toll on Stokes, who has struggled with injuries in recent years. He was hit by a bout of cramp on day 3.
The intensity of the series so far has led to fatigue and injuries on both sides.
India's batting star Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the fifth test with a foot fracture. He made 54 in the fourth test, despite playing with the injury.
England will also be without pacers Jofra Archer — who only recently returned to test cricket after more than four years out — and Brydon Carse. Spinner Liam Dawson is also left out in one of four changes.
Jacob Bethell replaces Stokes at No. 6 in the batting line up, while Gus Atkinson returns to bolster England's attack, along with Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue.
The fourth test ended with tensions between the teams, with Stokes saying his opposite number Shubman Gill should have accepted his offer of a draw with the match heading toward an inevitable stalemate.
But Gill chose to wait until Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar — whose watchful and stubborn long partnership helped save the test — had completed their centuries.
On Tuesday, India head coach Gautam Gambhir clashed with ground staff at the Oval. Video footage showed Gambhir in a confrontation with Lee Fortis, the lead curator at the ground. ___
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