Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri was left surprised by England captain Ben Stokes‘ decision to bat first after winning the toss during the third Test match at Lord’s. Since Brendon McCullum took over as England coach back in 2022, England opted for the aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach and in the recent past, they chose to field first after winning the toss on most occasions. However, Stokes took a completely different call on Thursday and even during the game, England showed a more cautious approach with just 251 runs coming in 83 overs. During the post-match analysis for Sky Sports Cricket, Shastri said that he had to confirm twice when he realised that Stokes opted to bat first.
“He took me aback. I said, ‘What have you decided?’ We’ll bat. There was a pause. I said, ‘What? Did I hear correctly?’ I then had to move on. Against the grain, England like to chase normally,” said Shastri.
“But I think it’s the weather. It’s the wear and tear. He knows how much of the rough can come into play and the Indian spinners, the problems they posed in the last test at Edgbaston. So I think the right decision by England, especially after what happened in Birmingham, to bat first,” he added.
However, Shastri believes that Stokes took the right decision.
“At all three occasions, Shubman Gill wanted to field After the first two tosses, I told him, good toss to lose. But this time, I think Ben made the right decision,” said Shastri.
Stokes seemingly struggled with an apparent groin injury during Day 1 of the Lord’s Test on Thursday. He was seen limping around the pitch while he navigated his way to an unbeaten 39 at Stumps.
England vice-captain Ollie Pope has his ‘fingers crossed’ and is hoping for a magical recovery for the all-rounder, given the importance of the third Test, with the series tied at one-a-piece.
“Fingers crossed he can do something magic and come back strong. Clearly we’ve got a big Test over the next four days and a big two coming up. It’s important to try to manage him.
“One of my roles is to make sure he doesn’t push himself to a ridiculous place. I’m sure the physios and medics will work with him to lay out a plan and I’ll help push him in the right direction,” said Pope in the post-day press conference.
(With IANS inputs)