Stokes returns to England line-up, Curran dropped

Reuters: Ben Stokes will start the third test for England against India at Trent Bridge on Saturday just four days after being cleared of affray.

England captain Joe Root confirmed on Friday that the all-rounder would be back in the starting eleven at the expense of the unfortunate Sam Curran, who was man of the match in the opening test at Edgbaston.

“It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make as captain. It’s about us as a squad delivering over five games and on this occasion Sam is unfortunate to miss out,” said Root.

“Ben is desperate to get back playing cricket. He’s desperate to get out there, put in performances and concentrate on his cricket now. He feels ready to play.

“I have known Ben from being really quite young and I feel very confident he will be able to go out and put in a performance.”

Stokes’ return for the third test, with England leading 2-0, was always going to be a difficult call for Root with two other all-rounders in the squad playing so well.

After the second test win, Root had described the selection dilemma as a “great headache” for him but Stokes has been welcomed back into the team’s ranks after his acquittal in the high-profile case.

Stokes had played a big part in providing a winning start with his six wickets, including the prize one of Virat Kohli, in the tight opening test at Edgbaston.

Yet in his absence due to the court hearing, England were much more dominant in their second test innings victory at Lord’s with Chris Woakes, the replacement for Stokes, winning the man-of-the-match award for his century and four wickets.

Curran had won the same award in the Edgbaston contest for his crucial half-century and five wickets, making it difficult for either him or Woakes to be dropped but it was the 20-year-old Surrey prospect who misses out.

“What Sam has done so far has been nothing short of high class,” said Root.

Woakes is retained after his magnificent effort as is batsman Ollie Pope who made a decent debut with his 28 at Lord’s.

Spotlight

The 27-year-old Stokes is plunged straight back into the spotlight after an 11-month saga ended when he was found not guilty of affray following the late-night street brawl in Bristol last September after England had won a one day international against West Indies.

Coach Trevor Bayliss has backed Stokes’ return, saying it was “for his own well-being”.

India’s head coach Ravi Shastri faces a very different problem of how to raise spirits with his team, the world’s number one ranked test side, staring at the indignity of losing the five-match series after just three tests.

In the first test to start on a Saturday in England since they played South Africa at the Oval in 1955, India have to improve their batting urgently and will be grateful that captain Kohli, the only one to shine amid the ruins, is fit after suffering back spasms at Lord’s.

Play ugly, look dirty, be gritty: Shastri’s mantra

AFP: India coach Ravi Shastri has called on the tourists’ batsmen to show “resolve” even if it means they look “ugly and dirty” at the crease, as they try to fight back against England.

Shastri’s men are 2-0 down in a five-match series heading into the third Test at Trent Bridge starting Saturday, after a thumping innings and 159-run defeat at Lord’s last week.

They were dismissed for just 107 and 130, while captain and star batsman Virat Kohli – who made exactly 200 runs in a 31-run loss in the first Test at Edgbaston – was in evident pain from a back injury.

India badly needed some of the defiance that former all-rounder Shastri showed with the bat in a career that yielded 11 Test centuries, including hundreds in the Caribbean against the formidable West Indies pace attacks of the 1980s.

He also made scores of 107 and 187 against England at Lord’s and The Oval respectively in 1990.

Shastri’s competitive spirit remains intact off the field, with the 56-year-old telling reporters at Trent Bridge on Thursday that “Batsmen from both teams have struggled”.

“When the occasion demands, it’s a case of mental resolve - how you put mind over matter and mental discipline will be the key as far as batsmen are concerned going forward in this Test match.”

India had the worst of the conditions at Lord’s, batting under overcast skies and on a pitch freshened by pre-match and in-game rain – an environment made to order for England new-ball duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Shastri, however, added: “Conditions have been tough as you have seen right through this series. But that’s where character and discipline comes into play, the resolve to know where your off-stump is, to leave a lot of balls, be prepared to look ugly and dirty and show some grit.”

Shastri said it was vital India did not brood on what had happened at Lord’s as they looked to regain a foothold in the series.

“Just believe in yourself,” he said. “You have been in this position couple of times before and you have responded.

“One thing for sure in this unit, there is no negative bone. In spite of what happened in the last Test match, conditions favoured England and that is no excuse whatsoever, it can happen to any side. We are here without a negative bone, wanting to play to win, as simple as that.”

As for Kohli’s fitness, Shastri said: “He is feeling much better. You saw him in the nets. He is moving much better and improving by the day.”

Meanwhile, Shastri paid tribute to former India Captain Ajit Wadekar, whose death aged 77 was announced on Wednesday.

Wadekar led India to their first Test series wins in the West Indies and England, both in 1971, before becoming team manager in the 1990s.

“I’m very sad,” said Shastri, like Wadekar, a star of both Mumbai and India cricket.

“On behalf of the whole Indian cricket team, we would like to offer condolences to his family, I knew Ajit very well from a very young age. I lived in the same building. He was one of our finest captains and a great manager, when it came to man-management skills, and as shrewd as anyone you will ever get as a captain.”