Archer’s inclusion in place of Josh Tongue boosts an England attack that looked to be on life support at Edgbaston. If anything, only one change is a surprise, but Stokes is adamant Brydon Carse’s battered feet are good to go and Chris Woakes’ record here is so good they should re-name the ground after him.
There will be attention on conditions, balls and the pitch. Last week, Stokes said the Edgbaston surface was subcontinental, which was understandable given it has barely rained this summer. Still, 18 England wickets fell to India’s excellent seamers.
From a distance, there looks to be more grass on the Lord’s pitch, though that will be baked in temperatures forecast to be above 30 degrees. Both teams have complained about the Dukes balls going soft, which led Stokes to question the brand of rings used by umpires to test the roundness. It later transpired they are standard issue from the International Cricket Council.
If the predicted heatwave does arrive on Thursday, then there will much intrigue around the toss, especially if Shubman Gill calls incorrectly. Stokes, who loves a chase as much as a dog running after a car, admitted he would be looking to bat first.
A captain makes hundreds of decisions during a Test, but not many as important or scrutinised as closely as the toss.
Stokes chose to field first at Headingley and England won. Stokes chose to field first at Edgbaston and England lost. On both occasions, Shubman said he would have bowled, too. You will have your own opinion whether or not a toss decision is vindicated by the result of the match.
Despite his history in home Tests, Stokes stressed he was “not stuck in his ways” and it is not a “tactic to consistently bowl first”.
“When I get the whites out with the blazer on, I look up to the sky more than anything. It’s not rocket science,” he said.
“I’m not the Met Office, so I can’t tell what’s going to happen afterwards.
“Because we’ve had good success at chasing down totals in the fourth innings, it doesn’t mean that’s our preference.”
Leave a Reply