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Associated Press
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
England chooses to bowl first against India in test series opener at Headingley
LEEDS, England (AP) — England chose to bowl first against India in the test series opener at Headingley on Friday. Both teams would have picked to field first. The last six test winners in Leeds bowled first. The pitch has a green tinge and the weather is sunny and humid, the temperature topping out at 29 degrees on days one and two. India, under new skipper Shubman Gill, has chosen to debut top-order batter Sai Sudharsan, give middle-order bat Karun Nair his first test in eight years. Shardul Thakur, who hasn't played a test since December 2023, was preferred to Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fast bowling allrounder and Prasidh Krishna headed off uncapped Arshdeep Singh as the third seamer. England named its team on Thursday, choosing at No. 3 in the batting order vice captain Ollie Pope over Jacob Bethell. ___ Lineups: England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Bryson Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Lokesh Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. ___ AP cricket:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Stokes backs Pope as England's No. 3 batter for India series and hints at tweak to 'Bazball'
LEEDS, England (AP) — Who to pick at No. 3 out of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell was widely regarded as England's biggest selection poser heading into the highly anticipated, five-match test series against India. Turns out, it wasn't much of a headache for Ben Stokes. Advertisement 'It would be remarkable to choose someone else if their last knock was 170,' the England captain said Thursday of the decision to keep faith with Pope after his big hundred in the one-off test against Zimbabwe last month. The 21-year-old Bethell is the next big thing in English cricket, a rising star in all formats who made a strong start to his test career — in the No. 3 position — by scoring a half-century in each test of the three-match series against New Zealand over the winter. However, Bethell didn't play against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge because he was finishing off a stint in the Indian Premier League. Pope did play and, batting at No. 3, made 171 for his third biggest test knock. Pope is the team's vice captain and remains a trusted ally of Stokes, despite continued speculation over his place in the team. Advertisement 'Having him at No. 3 and, since I've been captain over three years, averaging over 40. It speaks for itself, I think,' said Stokes, speaking on the eve of the first test at Headingley starting Friday. 'In this day and age, it's very tough to not see all the speculation and stuff around it, just because of how easily accessible things are. You don't even have to go hunt for it to see it these days. But I think scoring 170 in his last test match shows how well he's handled the extra scrutiny. It comes with the territory when you are an international player.' Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, whose nickname is 'Baz,' England has played an entertaining, aggressive, attack-at-all-costs brand of cricket that earned the label 'Bazball.' It has helped turn around the fortunes of England's test team, even if some see the approach as naive at times, especially when up against the world's top sides. Advertisement Stokes hinted at a possible tweak in strategy in the series against India, which comes before England heads to Australia for the Ashes. 'India always bring excitement with them, wherever they go in the world,' Stokes said. "We still want to be known as a team that plays an exciting style of cricket. But now, not that we never wanted to win every game that we played, it's about changing what we say, how we say it. 'We want to be playing an exciting game of cricket because we know that brings the best out of individuals, and us as a team. But it's about winning.' ___ AP cricket: The Associated Press
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Stokes gives strong backing to Pope as England's No. 3 batter for India series
LEEDS, England (AP) — Who to pick at No. 3 out of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell was widely regarded as England's biggest selection poser heading into the highly anticipated, five-match test series against India. Turns out, it wasn't much of a headache for Ben Stokes. 'It would be remarkable to choose someone else if their last knock was 170,' the England captain said Thursday of the decision to keep faith with Pope after his big hundred in the one-off test against Zimbabwe last month. The 21-year-old Bethell is the next big thing in English cricket, a rising star in all formats who made a strong start to his test career — in the No. 3 position — by scoring a half-century in each test of the three-match series against New Zealand over the winter. However, Bethell didn't play against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge because he was finishing off a stint in the Indian Premier League. Pope did play and, batting at No. 3, made 171 for his third biggest test knock. Pope is the team's vice captain and remains a trusted ally of Stokes, despite continued speculation over his place in the team. 'Having him at No. 3 and, since I've been captain over three years, averaging over 40. It speaks for itself, I think,' Stokes said. 'In this day and age, it's very tough to not see all the speculation and stuff around it, just because of how easily accessible things are. You don't even have to go hunt for it to see it these days. But I think scoring 170 in his last test match shows how well he's handled the extra scrutiny. It comes with the territory when you are an international player.' ___ AP cricket:
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
England without Atkinson but regains Carse and Woakes for first test against India
England's remodeled pace attack lost Gus Atkinson to injury but has regained Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse for the first test against India starting on June 20 in Leeds. With Atkinson ruled out of selection after injuring his right hamstring in the innings defeat of Zimbabwe in last month's one-off test, England again has had to shuffle a fast-bowler unit missing injured pair Mark Wood (knee) and Jofra Archer (thumb) and permanently deprived of now-retired stalwarts James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Woakes has only recently returned from a long-term ankle injury and has been playing for England's second-string Lions against India A. Carse also missed the match against Zimbabwe while he fully recovered from a toe injury sustained while playing in the Champions Trophy in February, but is set to return. Meanwhile, Jamie Overton, a bowling allrounder, has been picked despite breaking his right little finger during a one-day international against the West Indies on May 29 and is back in the test squad for the first time since June 2022 when he earned his sole cap against New Zealand. That was at Headingley, where England and India will begin their highly anticipated five-match series. Also in the 14-man squad is rising star batter Jacob Bethell, who didn't return home from the Indian Premier League to play against Zimbabwe but has been playing in the ODIs against the Windies. It looks to be a straight shootout between Bethell and Ollie Pope to bat at No. 3, but Pope has the edge given he is vice captain and scored a big century against the Zimbabweans. There will be further tests at Edgbaston, Lord's, Old Trafford and the Oval. ___ England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes. ___ AP cricket:
