MANCHESTER: England captain Ben Stokes says he is ready to put his injury-ravaged body on the line again if it helps his side seal a Test series win over India.All-rounder Stokes took five wickets, scored 77 runs and ran out Rishabh Pant across two innings of relentless effort during a 22-run win over India in the third Test at Lord’s.
The victory gave England a 2-1 lead in a five-match series, with fast-medium paceman Stokes bowling 44 overs in total, including gruelling spells on the decisive final day.
“I’m not going to lie, I cannot wait to just lie on my bed for four days,” said Stokes after the match.
The 34-year-old has suffered two severe hamstring injuries in the past 12 months but the skipper, speaking to reporters on the eve of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, said he was well-rested.
“I felt like I was in a long-distance relationship with my family because I hardly saw them [despite] being at home. If the situation requires it again then I’ll do what I need to do.” The quality of cricket on show from both England and India has drawn comparison with England’s celebrated 2005 Ashes triumph.
“So far, the series has been great to play in and I presume it’s been pretty good to watch,” said Stokes.
“The 2005 Ashes series was great to watch and I think we’ve gone all five days in all three Tests so far so it just proves that the quality of cricket has been outstanding.
“Two teams going toe-to-toe and not very much separating us at the moment. It’s been good to be a part of.”
England’s Liam Dawson will be playing his first Test in eight years after the left-arm spinner was recalled following Shoaib Bashir’s series-ending finger injury at Lord’s.
Meanwhile, Stokes again criticised over-rate rules after England were docked two World Test Championship points following the Lord’s Test win against India.
There was widespread criticism of time-wasting from both sides, which led to several delays in play and slow over-rates. England were ruled to be the main offenders and the points deduction means they slipped from second to third in the WTC standings for the 2025-2027 cycle. They were docked a costly 22 points in the previous cycle.
Exasperated Stokes on Tuesday renewed his call for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to change its rules.
“Over-rate isn’t something I worry about but that’s not saying I purposely slow things down,” he told reporters.
“I do understand the frustration around it but I honestly think there needs to be a real hard look at how it’s structured.
“You can’t have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 percent of the overs, [as] in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it’s going to be 70, 80 percent of seam bowled.”
ENGLAND IGNORED ‘SPIRIT OF THE GAME’: GILL
Indian captain Shubman Gill accused England of ignoring the “spirit of cricket” after the hosts’ time-wasting tactics in the third Test at Lord’s sparked an angry flare-up between the teams.
The tourists ought to have been able to bowl two overs late on the third day’s play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 — exactly level with England’s first-innings total.
Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove.
Passions flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley.
England went on to win a thrilling, if increasingly ill-tempered, match by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
Gill, in his first campaign as India captain, addressed the issue on the eve of the fourth Test.
“A lot of people have been talking about it so let me just clear the air once and for all,” the 25-year-old said on Tuesday.
“The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease, not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late.
“Yes, most of the teams use this [delaying tactic]. Even if we were in this position we would have liked to play fewer overs but there’s a manner to do it.
“If you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on and that is something that is fair. But to be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that comes in the spirit of the game.”
Gill admitted he was not proud of swearing at Crawley but said it took place in the context of rising tensions.
“We had no intention of doing that whatsoever but you’re playing a game, you’re playing to win and there are a lot of emotions,” said the Indian skipper.
“When you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes emotions come out of nowhere.”
Regarding team composition, Gill said fast bowler Akash Deep will be unavailable for the fourth Test with right-arm quick Anshul Kamboj likely to make his debut.
India drafted Kamboj into the squad on Monday with Nitish Kumar Reddy ruled out of the rest of the tour with a knee injury and fellow seamer Arshdeep Singh unfit for the next Test.With Deep nursing a groin issue, India will decide between Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna for the match in Manchester.
Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025
