England captain Ben Stokes was Wednesday ruled out of the fifth and deciding Test against India with a shoulder injury.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said vice-captain Ollie Pope would now lead the side in the match at the Oval starting Thursday, with England 2-1 up in the five-Test series.
Multiple reports claim Stokes suffered a grade three muscle tear around his right shoulder, which is hardly ideal given England does not play Test cricket again before the Ashes later this year.
“Disappointed not to finish series. I’ve got a decent tear,” Stokes said.
“Bit of emotion when you find out what you’ve done. I needed time this morning to make the decision. The risk of playing was way too high. I’ll start rehabbing now and focus now on the winter.”
Jacob Bethell replaces Stokes at No.6. In other changes Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse have been rested due to heavy workloads, while left-arm spinner Liam Dawson misses out altogether.
Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue all enter the side.
England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Jamie Overton, 11 Josh Tongue
More to come…
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