Star attractions absent as scheduling stymies blockbuster Test finale

Much like the Dude in the Big Lebowski during his various moments of confusion, it was impossible not to repeatedly blink upon seeing England’s XI for the fifth and final Test against India that starts on Thursday. Four changes, including the loss of Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope’s return to the captaincy, took a few moments to process.

“I don’t want to eat my words but the likelihood I won’t play is very unlikely,” said Stokes after the stalemate at Old Trafford. While that quote needed scanning a few times, so did the gnarly right shoulder he was seen prodding and poking during what was a chastening failure to claim an unassailable 3-1 series lead. A grade-three tear to “a muscle I can’t pronounce” was the upshot, Stokes confirmed on Wednesday, and his summer is now frustratingly over.

Not that some changes were not expected here. A series played on heartbreaking surfaces has left the quicks on both sides walking like a gaggle of C-3POs, although Chris Woakes, among those to play four, will go again. It would have been cruel to deny him in some ways, with the Oval pitch – battleground for the spat between Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, and Lee Fortis, Surrey’s head groundkeeper, who have missed out may end up cursing their misfortune.

They are Brydon Carse, tapped out after bowling 155 overs across four Tests, and Jofra Archer, wisely stood down after 88.3 across two on his comeback from major injury. And there is also no Liam Dawson, which Stokes insisted was more about the need for a fourth seamer rather than his Test return being more tight than triumphant. Spin will instead come from the returning Jacob Bethell and Joe Root – the less said about Harry Brook’s lollipop off-breaks the better – with Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton the seamers joining Woakes.

Quick Guide England v India: teams for fifth Test Show England (confirmed): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue. India (possible): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback.

While the broken foot that Rishabh Pant suffered in Manchester was a freak occurrence, India are still undecided about whether to risk Jasprit Bumrah. Flagged up at the start of the tour, his three-Test limit was reached in Manchester and, having broken down midway through the Sydney Test in January – which India might otherwise have won – any decision not to breach it would be understandable, if not still a bit of a Jasprit bummer for spectators. Mohammed Siraj (139 overs) is second only to Woakes (167) on the over-o-meters.

The question here, using a word administrators understand, is whether a mere four-day turnaround for such a blockbuster finale is good for the “product”. In one sense it will mercifully move things on from the handshakes-at-drawn chat that followed India’s great escape. But no Stokes, no Archer and possibly no Bumrah? The quality can only be reduced by the loss of three headliners and the weariness of those pushing through. Given what is on the line – England looking to win the first Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with India still able to share the spoils – it is suboptimal.

View image in fullscreen England’s Harry Brook (left) and Joe Root (right) with head coach Brendon McCullum during a practice session at the Oval on Wednesday. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters

People will blame the Hundred, starting as it does next week and for which all decks must be apparently cleared. But while that tournament is one factor, inbound tours rattling along at a rate of knots has long been par for the course. Gone are the days of the 1993 Ashes – to pluck one example – when Australia arrived in April, flew home at the end of August and the shortest gap between Tests was nine days. But international sides have far more commitments in the current sardine-tin era and India’s players also came into this series straight after the epic that is the Indian Premier League.

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Back-to-back Tests are not a new phenomenon either. And in fairness, the schedulers were also not to know that a dry summer would create the featherbeds which have in turn pushed so many cast members into the red zone. (Contrary to popular belief, England have not asked for these: they just want pace and bounce). Nevertheless, as both captains stated before the match – albeit Stokes now England captain by proxy – just three days of rest does no one any favours.

The Oval will still be full and new faces do bring some fresh intrigue at least. India may hand a debut to Arshdeep Singh – Anshul Kamboj may struggle to claim he is among those “rested” – while Atkinson’s return on his home ground is important for England in their final Test before the Ashes. And Bethell in for Stokes will inevitably be a talking point, given how accomplished he looked in New Zealand. Unlikely, admittedly, but if the last hour scenario at Old Trafford arises again in reverse, one wonders whether Pope will allow him to complete a first century in senior cricket.

While India would love to end Shubman Gill’s first outing as captain with a creditable 2-2 draw, there is also the broader picture for England. As has long been said, the so-called Bazball project will be defined by this series and the Ashes that follows. The hope now is the finale of the first leg, box office in theory, will not be defined by the loss of Stokes and others who fell apart en route.

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