England sweat on Ben Stokes as spectre of injury looms

England face an anxious wait on the fitness of their captain, Ben Stokes, after he pulled up sore while batting on the first day of the third Test against India at Lord’s.

Stokes was unbeaten on 39 at the close, having faced 102 balls on a slow day in which the hosts ended on 251 for 4 with Joe Root on 99 overnight.

On 32, Stokes took a step forward before leaving a Nitish Kumar Reddy delivery outside off and immediately winced in pain, clutching at his right groin.

He called for the physio and after some on-field treatment returned to his crease. But he was still in visible discomfort, hobbling as he set off for a single and sitting on his haunches trying to loosen up between deliveries. Stokes was stretching again as the second new ball was brought out and Root eyed a century.

Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah got the ball swinging again immediately – as it had at the start of the day, making the going tough.

Root thought he could reach his milestone with a glance behind point on 98 but he only managed a single as Ravindra Jadeja swooped, then beckoned for Root to come back for a second as he held onto the ball, grinning. But there was no way he was risking it, especially with Stokes’ running a concern.

Ollie Pope – who faced 104 balls for his 44 before falling to Jadeja on the first ball after tea – was hoping the as-yet-undiagnosed problem would improve overnight.

“Fingers crossed he can do something magic and come back strong,” Pope said. “I’ve not seen him since, so fingers crossed there’s nothing too serious. But clearly we’ve got a big Test over the next four days and we’ve got a big two [at Old Trafford and The Oval] coming up as well, so it is important to try and manage him.”

As vice-captain, Pope acknowledged he had a part to play in ensuring that Stokes didn’t push himself too hard in spite of the problem.

“We’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow, but for me, that is partially one of my roles, to make sure that he doesn’t push himself to a ridiculous place with whatever he’s dealing with at the moment,” Pope said. “I’m sure the physios, the medics will work with him to lay out a plan and then I’ll help push him in the right direction.”

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Stokes was England’s most effective bowler when they won the opening Test at Headingley, having finally been able to increase his bowling workload after two bouts of surgery to repair tears in his right hamstring in the space of six months.

He bowled 19 overs in India’s first innings at Edgbaston and seven at an economy rate of 3.71 in their second before the tourists won by a massive 336 runs, levelling the five-match series 1-1.

Stokes’ resurgence as a bowler follows painstaking work after he underwent knee surgery in late 2023. That threw a spotlight on his penchant for exerting himself through any discomfort for the good of the team.

With plenty more runs needed before any thoughts turn to his bowling in this match, England will be carefully weighing up what is good for both heading into the second day.