01/08/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | AUG 1, 2025

28 Ashes priority Stokes confident of fitness despite shoulder injury E NGLAND captain Ben Stokes insists he will be fit to lead his side’s Ashes charge, despite being ruled out of the series decider against India with a seri legacy-defining trip to Australia. The Ashes begins in Perth on Nov 21, with England flying out a fortnight earlier, and he was quick to assure fans he intended to be there. Ű BY RORY DOLLARD

punishing workload. “Not at all. When I’m out on the field I play to win and give everything I possibly can,” he said. “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 that’s how much this team means to me, how much playing for England means to me, how much winning means to me. “Being a professional sportsman, injuries are part of this game and I can’t do anything about that. “We’ve got a team of 11 match winners. One person doesn’t win you a game and just because I am playing or I’m not playing doesn’t mean we’re going to win or lose,” said Stokes. “We’ve have seen people put in some pretty special individual performances and it’s another opportunity for another 11 people to hopefully put their hand up and win a game for England.” – The Independent Ben Duckett. But he said the incidents were not con nected. “I think I have already explained what hap pened at Lord’s and about even the incident that happened on the last day in the previous Test,” he said. “Both the teams have been very competi tive. And sometimes when you are competi tive, you know, in the heat of the moment, you do or say things that you might not do (other wise). “But I think once the match is over, there is mutual respect between both the teams.” Despite India’s superb rearguard action to earn a draw in Manchester, Gautam remains under pressure. Since he took over as head coach, India have won just two and lost eight out of 12 Tests. – AFP

medical team, Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum), and then it was just 20 minutes to myself out there in the morning, just to really be clear around the decision that we made. “It is one of those where you’re weighing up the risk-reward and the risk was way too high for damaging this any further than it currently is. “I wouldn’t expect to put any one of my players at risk with an injury like this. The series has taken a big toll.” Stokes knows the ropes better than most when it comes to arduous recovery periods. The 34-year-old underwent surgery on a longstanding knee issue in late 2023 and suffered two serious hamstring tears last year. He bounced back better than ever this year, racking up 140 overs with the ball and facing almost 600 deliveries, but may have ultimately pushed himself beyond his body’s capacity. Yet he has no regrets about taking such a tion from Fortis. “What happened yesterday, I thought, is just absolutely unnecessary. “I mean, it’s not the first time that we were having a look at the wicket,” Shubman said yes terday. The skipper, who has scored 722 runs in the four Tests so far, added: “As a captain, I don’t know what the fuss was all about.” The series has become increasingly heated, with India refusing to shake hands on a draw early in the fourth Test in Manchester to allow Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja to reach centuries, a decision that angered England. Shubman previously accused England of ignoring the “spirit of cricket” with time-wast ing tactics in the third Test at Lord’s. India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was fined for the aggressive send-off he gave to

Stokes opted to take the captain’s pre-match press conference in place of deputy Ollie Pope, who will lead the team on home turf with the side 2-1 ahead, and was asked directly if he expected to be ready. “Yeah. It’s six or seven weeks probably,” he said, taking an optimistic view of the prognosis. “I’ll start rehabbing now and obviously focus on what we’ve got coming up in the winter. “It’s a decent tear of one of the muscles I can’t pronounce. I woke up the morning after the game and it was pretty sore so I wasn’t surprised that the scan showed something. “There was obviously a bit of emotion going in when you find out what you’ve done. “I think you need time chatting with the

ous shoulder injury. Stokes was seen clutching his right shoulder during the fourth innings of last week’s draw at Old Trafford but still sent down 11 overs in clear discomfort. He was initially hopeful about lining up in the fifth Test at the Kia Oval, but scans revealed a grade three tear – the most severe category – meaning he now faces six to 10 weeks of rehabilitation. And while he will play nothing more than a cheerleading role in the final match a series where he has emerged as the key performer, the medical advice suggests he is confident of being back in time for what has been billed as a INDIA captain Shubman Gill said the head groundsman at the Oval had sparked an “unnecessary” row with coach Gautam Gambhir following the latest flashpoint in a fractious series against England. Gautam shared terse words on Tuesday with Lee Fortis at the Oval, the London venue for the fifth Test. India trail 2-1 in the series ahead of the deciding match, which starts on Thursday. Former India bats man Shubman was caught on Self-inflicted injury problem for England ONCE again, Ben 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 2017. Stokes 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 teams. 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 battle. Is 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 in. England 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 tour. camera wag ging his fin ger as Fortis t owe r ed over him,

Groundsman caused unnecessary row: Shubman

repeatedly stating: “You can’t tell us what to do.” Gautam was also heard adding: “You’re just the groundsman, nothing beyond.” Surrey groundsman Fortis is understood to have been keeping a protective eye on the playing area during India’s practice session, with plenty of cricket still to be played on it this season.

But India have insisted they simply wanted to have a look at the pitch and had

done nothing to spark any kind of reac

Shubman Gill. – REUTERSPIC

Pope hopes to finish job for injured skipper

Ű BY RORY DOLLARD

“I think everyone knows the skills he’s got, everyone saw him smack it in the T20s and one-dayers,” said Pope. “He’s shown he can click straight into Test match mode as he did in New Zealand so that’s really exciting. With his personality he’ll be pretty excited for the opportunity to try and help us win a series.” Pope’s only defeat during his previous stint in charge came at the Oval – where Sri Lanka sprung a surprise in a dead rubber – and he now has the

STAND-IN England captain Ollie Pope hopes to finish the job Ben Stokes started by sealing a series win over India. A badly torn shoulder muscle meant Stokes had to admit defeat in his battle to be fit for the decider at the Kia Oval, handing over the reins – and a 2-1 lead – to his deputy. As well as filling the leadership void, Pope will have to make up for the absence of Stokes the all rounder. The 34-year-old picked up player-of-the match honours in each of the last two Tests and his competitive edge will be a big miss for a side built in his image. Pope, who stood in for four matches last year, is a quieter and less-combative character but has his eyes on the prize. “It’s gutting he’s missing the final Test, he’d love to be out there. But the impact

England’s Ollie Pope in action against India. – REUTERSPIC

he’s had on this series with both bat and ball has been awesome,” he said. “When you’ve got a cricketer like Ben, you’re going to miss them, but we appreciate everything he’s done this series and hopefully we can do him proud this week.”

chance to put that right at his home ground.

“I was trying to learn on the job. Last summer was pretty much the first time I’ve done it for more than one game in professional cricket,” he said. “I’ve got some good things to look back on, what worked well and what I could have improved on. I know this ground well and how this pitch plays. “It’s about using what I know about these conditions to make good cricketing decisions.” – The Independent

Stokes’lay-off means a first appearance for the year for Jacob Bethell, who announced himself as a rising star in New Zealand last December and has since put in some exciting performances in the white-ball arena. Initially seen as a rival for Pope’s spot at No. 3, he will now slot in at No. 6 and offer some overs of left-arm spin with Liam Dawson dropped from the XI.