Woakes replaces Stokes, Pope in England squad

BIRMINGHAM: England have included Chris Woakes in place of Ben Stokes for the second Test at Lord's starting Thursday. Stokes has to appear for a hearing in Bristol court on Monday and the hearing is likely to go on through the week. Woakes, meanwhile, is returning from an injury and might take Stokes' place in the playing XI.


Meanwhile, underperforming middle-order batsman Dawid Malan has also been dropped and Ollie Pope has come in his place. Pope is a right-hander who plays for Surrey and in 15 first-class matches he has scored 1012 runs at an average of 62.25. While Pope's form has been terrific in the domestic circuit, Malan had failed to impress in the first Test. While he scored only eight and 20 in the opening Test, he had a nightmarish time in the slips as he dropped Virat Kohli twice on 21 and 51 in India's first innings and Murali Vijay once in the second essay.

England national selector Ed Smith said that Pope has shown enough maturity and it is the right time to blood the 20-year-old. "Pope has made an exceptional start to his first-class career... The selection panel believes that Ollie's performances and character suggest he is well suited to international cricket… Dawid has not found his best rhythm this season, and it may be that his game is better suited to overseas conditions," Smith said.

Woakes, on the other hand, seems to have recovered from a right-knee injury. The bowling all-rounder had played three T20s and a first-class match in the last fortnight to prove his fitness. "Stokes is unavailable, but Woakes, with some extra matches and practices, can now return to the England squad after injury," said Smith.

England squad for second Test: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes.

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