England closed the opening day of the third Test on 251 for 4, yet the mood in the home dressing-room was noticeably muted. Ben Stokes is unbeaten on 39, Joe Root is poised on 99, but all eyes are on the captain’s right groin.
The problem surfaced just after tea. On 32, Stokes pressed forward, opted to leave Nitish Kumar Reddy outside off and then winced, grabbing at the muscle high on his thigh. The physio was summoned, a brief stretch followed, and play continued. Even so, Stokes hobbled through singles and repeatedly crouched between deliveries, trying to loosen the area. It looked uncomfortable rather than catastrophic, but England will not know the severity until the morning.
India sensed an opening. With the second new ball only a few overs old, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah located late swing similar to that which had jagged about in the first hour. Root tried to pinch the run that would have completed yet another Lord’s hundred, but a sharp Ravindra Jadeja save at backward point kept him on 98. The pair shared a smile; Root was in no mood to gamble with Stokes struggling to run.
Earlier, Root and Ollie Pope steadied the innings after England had slipped to 124 for 3 on a surface offering gentle, two-paced movement. Pope dug in for 44 from 104 balls before Jadeja struck with his very first delivery after tea, the left-arm spinner pinning him on the crease. Reflecting on the Stokes incident, Pope said: “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 coming up as well, so it is important to try and manage him.”
As vice-captain, Pope knows he may have to rein in an obstinate colleague. “We’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow, 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,” he added. “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.”
Stokes has already bowled 26 overs in the series – a notable workload given last winter’s knee surgery and two earlier hamstring operations. At Headingley he was England’s most effective bowler; at Edgbaston he sent down seven quick overs even as India piled up a match-levelling victory by 336 runs. That recent history makes any fresh twinge, even in a different muscle group, worth monitoring closely.
England will therefore weigh his value with the bat against any short-term bowling gain. Should he wake up stiff, Root, Pope and the medical staff may recommend he fields in the cordon and leaves the bowling to others. With two Tests still to come – Manchester and The Oval loom large – a precautionary approach feels logical.
For now, though, England have the scoreboard on their side, if not the fitness bulletin. Root needs one more run, Stokes 61, and the hosts still possess Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and a long-tail that can scrap. India, buoyed by the slight limp they helped to create, will come again in the morning. What shape Stokes is in when they do may yet define not only this match, but the remainder of a delicately poised series.
