Stokes Out Injured, Ollie Pope Named Stand-In Captain

 

England have announced their playing XI for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Gavaskar Trophy. The team have made four changes in the lineup, but the most notable one is the exclusion of the captain Ben Stokes, who is ruled out with a injury to his right shoulder.

 

Overall, England have made four changes to the playing XI ahead of the decisive clash. Apart from Stokes, spinner Liam Dawson and pace duo of Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse have been excluded from the squad. Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton and pacer Josh Tongue have been included in the lineup for the Oval Test. England captain Ben Stokes was seen struggling in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy due to shoulder pain and it was evident in the fourth innings of the match. However, there was uncertainty around his presence in the playing XI. Vice-captain will lead the team in the abscense of regular skipper.

 

Josh Tongue was in the playing XI for the first two matches of the series and was rested for the next two. But, he has returned to the playing XI for the fifth and final Test. Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse have been rested with the purpose of workload management. England have a slight edge in the five-match series as they are leading by 2-1 across the four matches. In the fourth Test played at the Manchester, India had conceded a massive first innings trail but they showcased sheer resilience to avoid a defeat and manage a draw.

 

The match also involved an altercation between England team and the Indian batting duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar as they denied handshake offer for a draw and accepted it only after completing their individual centuries. England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope ©, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.