England keep ‘fingers crossed’ on Stokes injury

Ollie Pope said England will keep their “fingers crossed” Ben Stokes has not suffered a serious injury after the captain struggled on the first day of the third Test against India at Lord’s.

Stokes appeared to experience a problem with his groin on his right side while making 39 not out, as England closed on 251-4.

The all-rounder had treatment on the field and hobbled between the wickets, turning down a second run in the final over that would have taken Joe Root to a century. Root ended unbeaten on 99.

England indicated there are no plans for Stokes to have a scan overnight and the skipper will instead be assessed on Friday morning.

“Fingers crossed he can do something magic and come back strong,” said vice-captain Pope.

Stokes, 34, has a chequered injury history and has only just returned from hamstring surgery.

Known for pushing his body to the limits, the Durham man has been fit to play a full part as the fourth seamer in the England attack this summer, albeit refraining from the marathon spells that were once his trademark.

And Pope admitted one of his duties as Stokes’ deputy will be to ensure the captain does not do himself further damage by playing through any potential injury problem.

“For me, it’s partially one of my roles to make sure he doesn’t push himself to a ridiculous place with whatever he’s dealing with at the moment,” added Pope.

India have their own injury concern after wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant spent most of the day off the field following a blow to his left index finger.

Like Stokes, Pant had one round of treatment on the field before being hit for a second time attempting a take down the leg side off pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

He was not seen after the 34th over of the day, with substitute Dhruv Jurel stepping in behind the stumps and holding an excellent catch to dismiss Pope.

The tourists have no plans for Pant to have an X-ray before the second day begins.

Pope, who was dropped off his first ball, made 44 in a third-wicket stand of 109 with Root.

On a slow pitch at Lord’s, against some excellent Indian bowling, England were forced to curb their attacking instincts. A run-rate of 3.02 per over is their slowest for a total in excess of 200 since Stokes became captain three years ago.

“It’s not necessarily the way we’re used to going about a first innings, but I think 251-4 is a pretty good score at the minute,” said Pope.

“Obviously we would have liked some more runs, but the nature of the surface and the way the Indian attack bowled was pretty good.