Ben Stokes hinted to a probable rotation of England bowlers for the final Test in the present five-match series against India. When asked about the bowling attack England planned to employ at The Oval, he made these statements.
The English captain stated that he and the team management will analyse their choices, as well as the workload of the current crop of bowlers.
“With another quick turnaround before The Oval, we’ll have to make the most of these few days and simply check in on everyone to see how they’re doing. We’re really fortunate right now to have a battery of fast bowlers on call at any time, so it’ll be assessed over the following few days before we make that choice,” Stokes said during the post-match presentation.
Absolutely no chance I was going to risk any of my big fast bowlers: Ben Stokes
When asked about why he wanted he offered a draw and the non-utilisation of the frontline bowlers in the majority of the final session of Day 5, Stokes admitted that he wanted to protect his group from any risk of injury.
“There was absolutely no chance I was going to risk any of my big fast bowlers through injuries with one more game to go. Dawsy (Dawson) just bowled so many overs (15 [first innings] and 47 [second innings]) this game that his body started to get a little bit tired and started to cramp up in the legs. I wasn’t risking any of my frontline bowlers for that last 30 minutes. Even before this Test match, obviously there were those conversations around how much effort and energy has gone in, especially from the bowling department,” he added.
Chris Woakes (167 overs), Brydon Carse (155 overs), and Stokes (140 overs) are the only three bowlers from England who have bowled across all eight innings. The most an Indian bowler has bowled is Mohammed Siraj (139 overs in 7 innings).
India
