England vice-captain Ollie Pope has described the pitch for the fourth Test in Ranchi as “interesting” but believes this may favour the tourists after back-to-back defeats by India.
The playing surface in the Jharkhand capital 48 hours out from the first day of the penultimate match has cracks running down one side of the cut strip and was watered on Wednesday morning before being briefly left to bake under the sun.
A crusted top layer formed before the area was covered – all of which suggests some balls may explode off the ground and spinners from both sides are likely to be involved from the off.
India hold a 2-1 lead on pitches that have generally been slow turners, with the team that has won the toss coming out on top on all three occasions, but England are gearing up for lavish spin this week.
“It looks an interesting pitch,” Pope said. “It doesn’t necessarily look like a belting wicket at the moment. It kind of looks like one half is good and there’s a lot of cracks (on the other half).”
Pope, though, insisted this does not faze England, who are likely to go back to their policy of selecting one front-line seamer to bowl alongside three spinners that they had in the first two Tests.
That suggests either or both of James Anderson and Mark Wood dropping out, with Ollie Robinson in the frame for the first time in the series, and Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir as the spinners.
“If that does a fair bit like we expect it to having looked at it, it definitely brings us into the game,” Pope said. “If it does spin from ball one, I guess it’s an even playing field.
“We have got some young spinners but I think they’ve bowled well on some pretty good surfaces as well so it definitely brings some wicket-taking opportunities into the game.
“It takes the toss a little bit out of it as well. When the ball’s doing more, your best bet is trying to hit the bowler off his length and try and get him to not bowl where he wants to bowl every ball.”
The return of Ben Stokes as a fully fledged all-rounder is gathering more momentum, with the England captain having an extended bowling session at the batters in the nets without any apparent discomfort.
He was seen briefly speaking to team doctor Glen Rae after he had stopped, raising the prospect of Stokes bowling competitively this week for the first time since last year’s Lord’s Ashes Test.
Stokes had surgery on his left knee in November, with stitches in his meniscus and a big bone spur removed, but had made a “pinky promise” to England’s physiotherapist he would not bowl on this tour.
But Stokes revealed after England’s 434-run defeat in Rajkot he was further along in his progress than was initially suspected to be the case and bowling at optimum level.
“There’s definitely a chance,” Pope, England’s vice-captain, said. “He’s not confirmed it even in the changing room, so we will see. We’ll see how he pulls up, and if that’s good hopefully we will see him with the ball in hand in the game.
“If he’s got full confidence in his knee, I guess you’ve got to trust the medical advice and trust his opinions as well. If he needs a bit of guidance on the pitch then I can be someone to lean on.”
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Springer replaces injured Russell in Windies squad for final leg of England T20Is in Saint Lucia; returning Alzarri Joseph replaces Shamar Joseph
All-rounder Shamar Springer and pacer Alzarri Joseph have been drafted into the West Indies T20I squad ahead of the crucial St. Lucia leg of their “Rivalry” series against England, CWI announced on Tuesday.
Springer replaces Andre Russell who has been ruled out due to a left ankle sprain sustained during the opening T20I at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Bajan recently made his international debut during the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka in October.
The other change sees Alzarri Joseph, having completed his two-match suspension, rejoin the squad in Saint Lucia, replacing Shamar Joseph.
The West Indies currently trail the five-match series 0-2.
The squad for the final three games is as follows:
Remaining Schedule of West Indies vs England T20I Series:
3rd T20 International: 14 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
4th T20 International: 16 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
5th T20 International: 17 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
Pride get back on track with tense eight-run DLS method win over Volcanoes
The Barbados Pride rebounded from their defeat at the hands of the CCC in their last game with an eight-run DLS method win over the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Monday.
In the rain-reduced 46 overs-per-side affair, the Pride, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, posted 239-9 from their 46 overs.
In form batsmen Kevin Wickham and Leniko Boucher led the way for the Pride with 47 and 43, respectively while Kemar Smith (34*) and captain Kyle Mayers (33) also made valuable contributions.
Kenneth Dember was excellent in his 10 overs of off-spin, finishing with figured of 3-33.
Set a revised target of 245 from 46 overs, the Volcanoes fell agonizingly short of a win, being bowled out for 237 in the end.
Jeremy Solozano tried his best with an 88-ball 85 while West Indies batsman Kavem Hodge made 37.
Mayers led from the front with the ball with 3-50 from seven overs of medium pace while Dominic Drakes and Javed Leacock each took a pair of wickets.
Full Scores:
Barbados Pride 239-9 off 46 overs (Kevin Wickham 47, Leniko Boucher 43, Kemar Smith 34*, Kyle Mayers 33, Kenneth Dember 3-33)
Windward Islands Volcanoes 237 off 46 overs (Jeremy Solozano 85, Kavem Hodge 37, Kyle Mayers 3-50, Javed Leacock 2-37, Dominic Drakes 2-42).
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