ENG vs IND: Ollie Pope provides crucial update on Ben Stokes' fitness after injury scare on day 1

Ben Stokes ended day 1 on 39* as England finished on 251/4 at the Lord’s.

England vice-captain Ollie Pope gave a hopeful update on captain Ben Stokes, who suffered an injury scare on day one of the ongoing third test against India that began on July 10 at the Lord’s. England’s Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat first for a change.

Both sides made one change each as Jofra Archer made his England test return after 2021, while Jasprit Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna in the India XI.

Ben Duckett (23) and Zak Crawley (18) were dismissed cheaply by India’s Nitish Kumar Reddy. England adopted a cautious, risk-averse strategy instead of their typical aggressive “Bazball.” The ship was steadied by Ollie Pope and Joe Root.

Following Pope’s departure at tea time and Harry Brook’s prompt dismissal, Root was able to anchor with skipper Ben Stokes, who added a patient 39*. England finished the first day on 251/4, thanks to a calm innings of 99* off 191 balls from Root, who displayed his signature classical calmness.

“Fingers crossed..”- Ollie Pope on Ben Stokes’ injury

On the second day of the third test match against India at Lord’s, England will wait to see if Ben Stokes is healthy enough to play. The England captain was in a lot of agony in the play right before stumps, but he finished undefeated on 39.

After taking a stride forward and letting Nitish Reddy’s ball fly, Stokes clutched his right groin and felt the agony. After receiving treatment from the physiotherapist, he resumed his batting. He hobbled as he ran, searching in agony for what remained of the day.

After the first day’s play, England vice-captain Ollie Pope has stated that Ben Stokes would ‘come back strong’ as they want to get on with it on day two. England batters showed great restraint on day one as Indian bowlers kept them tied down with excellent bowling.

“Fingers crossed he can do something magic and come back strong. I’ve not seen him since, so fingers crossed there’s nothing too serious. But clearly, we’ve got a big Test over the next four days and we’ve got a big two [at Old Trafford and The Oval] coming up as well, so it is important to try and manage him.

“We’ll see how he pulls up, but for me, that is partially one of my roles, to make sure that he doesn’t push himself to a ridiculous place with whatever he’s dealing with at the moment. I’m sure the physios, the medics will work with him to lay out a plan and then I’ll help push him in the right direction,” Pope said after the first day’s play.

England will be worried about Stokes’ injury concern because the captain has recently increased his bowling effort after undergoing many surgeries in the past few years. In the victory at Leeds, Stokes was one of his team’s top bowlers, taking five wickets in 35 overs over the course of two innings.

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