Ben Stokes seems likely to make an immediate return for England in the third Specsavers Test against India after being found not guilty of affray.
The influential all-rounder was absent from the innings-and-159-run victory at Lord’s because of his much-publicised trial at Bristol Crown Court, which concluded on Tuesday.
Stokes’ acquittal was swiftly followed by an England recall and, here, Press Association Sport looks at who could make way at Trent Bridge.
Chris Woakes
What a knock this was @chriswoakes! ?#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/CXcY87DVIA
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 13, 2018
Ordinarily, the most obvious candidate to be replaced would be the person who deputised for Stokes at Lord’s. However, Woakes came into the team and made a significant impact, taking the key wicket of India captain Virat Kohli in the first innings before a timely maiden international century sent England firmly on course to complete a comprehensive win that put them 2-0 up in the series. Dropping Woakes after such a display seems unlikely.
Sam Curran
Amazing week, an unbelievable win to be in involved in.. the atmosphere was incredible. Thank you for all the messages ?????????
— Sam Curran (@CurranSM) August 5, 2018
The left-handed bowling all-rounder has shown an appetite for the heat of battle this summer rarely seen in 20-year-old rookies. A four-wicket haul and a combative half-century in just his second Test swung the series opener in England’s favour at Edgbaston and bagged him a richly-deserved man-of-the-match award. But at this stage in his career, Curran is an inferior first-change bowler to Woakes so it could be that England take a pragmatic view and leave out the Surrey youngster.
Adil Rashid
Didn’t bat.Didn’t bowl.Didn’t take a catch/make a run-out.@AdilRashid03 in the second #ENGvIND Test was just the 14th player in Test history to achieve this somewhat bizarre feat!
➡️ https://t.co/6J50bpSf5L pic.twitter.com/ikAz5uDfWE
— ICC (@ICC) August 13, 2018
The leg-spinner was a virtual bystander at the Home of Cricket, where he did not bat, bowl or take a catch in the field. His return to red-ball cricket has been a relatively low-key affair and it would not be a complete shock if England decided they did not need a spinner at a ground that even Graeme Swann lamented as a graveyard for tweakers. His omission would mean fielding five seamers, though, which could be a case of ‘too many chefs’.
Ollie Pope
A confident Test debut innings with the bat for Ollie Pope (28). ??@EnglandCricket fans will like what they saw from our Surrey man. pic.twitter.com/LD4D4AMQAQ
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) August 11, 2018
In order to accommodate their abundance of all-rounders, England may decide to drop a batsman and Pope is the most vulnerable because of his inexperience. That would mean Jonny Bairstow moves up to four and Stokes slots in at five. This seems more improbable as dropping Pope after one Test innings would be very unfair on the 20-year-old, not to mention the burden it would place on the shoulders of wicketkeeper Bairstow.