Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson might be asked to breathe latest life into England‘s bowling against India after Ben Stokes admitted his attack did not “blast them open” at Edgbaston.
Inside an hour of India levelling the series 1-1 with a thumping 336-run win within the second Rothesay Test, England added Surrey quick Atkinson to their squad for next week’s clash at Lord’s.
He’s fit again after injuring his hamstring against Zimbabwe in May and will line up for the primary time with Archer, who has been training with the team in Birmingham and is primed for a primary Test appearance in greater than 4 years.
Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue are the likeliest players to face down after sharing an enormous workload in the primary two games against India.
Stokes may be hoping changes help unsettle opponents who’ve racked up 1,849 runs in 4 innings and celebrated seven centuries along the best way.
Having sent India in on the primary morning in Birmingham he saw them go from 211 for five to 587 all out, to assert a commanding position they never relinquished.
Ben Stokes
“At 200 for five we were completely happy but we just weren’t in a position to blast them open,” he said after his side were dismissed for 271 on the ultimate day.
“They ended up getting an enormous first innings total after us having start. I believe if we’d been in a position to burst them open once we did have them five down then the sport would potentially have played out a bit bit in another way.
“It’s no secret that now we have spent a while in the sphere and bowled some overs in the primary two games so we’ll should see how everyone pulls up over the following two days. With it being a fast turnaround there probably shall be a choice now we have to make.”
Whoever is chosen at headquarters, one in all the principal tasks shall be finding a weakness within the armoury of latest India captain Shubman Gill. He has now scored 585 runs within the series at a mean of 146.25 and is in with a shout of Sir Don Bradman’s magic variety of 974 – probably the most runs ever scored by one batter in a series.
“He’s had some two games, hasn’t he?” Stokes acknowledged with a wry smile.
“You’ve got got to provide your opposition credit when it’s due and for him to bang out as many runs as he has done on this game has been pretty special.”
Third Test
England are set for 2 days off before reconvening on Wednesday, training once at Lord’s before resuming hostilities, and Stokes is content they’ll achieve this with a clean slate.
“We’ve had some unbelievable wins and a few bad defeats and I feel this team is sort of good at staying level throughout those ups and downs,” he said.
“We knew coming into the series it wasn’t going to be easy, that there have been going to be ebbs and flows since it’s two superb teams. We’ve got to wipe this one under the carpet as quickly as we will because Lord’s day one shall be coming round pretty quickly.”
Gill is looking forward to it after having fun with his first success as India skipper, adding: “There’s no greater honour than to captain your country in a Test match at Lord’s.
“I’m definitely feeling comfortable with my game and if we’re in a position to win the series with my contributions, that shall be great.”
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