England were left anxiously monitoring the fitness of captain Ben Stokes after he appeared to pick up a groin injury as he batted on day one in the third Test against India at Lord’s.
Stokes was progressing nicely on 32 when he stopped in obvious discomfort after playing and leaving a delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy. He was clutching his right groin and needed on-field treatment with the physio. Although he resumed, the allrounder was obviously restricted as he was hobbled on the wicket. Then repeatedly stretch to try to loosen the affected area.
Stokes was closed out at stumps an unbeaten 39 from 102 balls with England finishing the day on 251 for 4. Joe Root, who had been the anchor of the innings, was left stranded on 99 due to overcast conditions.
With two more Tests to play in the five-match series, Stokes’s fitness is now a huge concern for England. Working out on how to get the maximum of Stokes will challenge vice-captain Ollie Pope, who scored 44 before falling to a flat delivery from Ravindra Jadeja.
“We’ll see how he comes up tomorrow,” Pope said. “That’s partly my job – to make sure he doesn’t get himself into a ridiculous place. Fingers crossed there isn’t anything serious.”
Stokes had only a short while prior, resumed his bowling workload after the knee surgery in 2023 and had endured a chronic issue of injuries. He was the most successful bowler to play in England’s victory at Headingley and contributed with the ball in Edgbaston, in which India squared the series, for his team.
As England were looking to build a sizeable total and Stokes was central to the batting, and bowling plans, the team management would undoubtedly make a careful assessment leading into day two.
As Pope said, “It is a big Test, and two more after this one – to be stupid to mismanage him.”
Read More: England vs India 2nd Test Match Scorecard
