IND vs ENG: Ben Stokes’ injury worries England as hosts prepare for run-heavy day 2 at Lord’s

England captain Ben Stokes pulled up sore while batting on day one against India at the Lord’s, casting doubts over his fitness and participation in the remainder of the game. Stokes remained unbeaten on 39 off 108 balls on an otherwise slow day for England, with batting veteran Joe Root standing at the other end, stranded at 99*, with their scorecard reading 251 for four. While batting on 32, Stokes took a stride forward and left a Nitish Kumar Reddy delivery, only for him to wince in pain and clutch his right groin immediately. Even after the team physio attended to him and treated him, Stokes appeared uncomfortable throughout, hobbling up.

As Stokes was taking his time in between the deliveries, stretching again before India took the new ball, Root looked determined to complete his first hundred of this series; he, however, was struck on 99* overnight. In the last over of the day, Root took a single off the fourth ball off Akash Deep, trying to go for another one, before a loud no from Stokes saw him finish the day on 99 not out.

"Fingers crossed he can do something magic and come back strong," Pope said of Stokes’ injury. "I've not seen him since, so fingers crossed there's nothing too serious. But clearly we've got a big Test over the next four days and we've got a big two [at Old Trafford and The Oval] coming up as well, so it is important to try and manage him."

Pope, team vice-captain and someone who stitched over a 109-run stand with Joe Root (for the third wicket) following a double wicket-over by Nitish Reddy early in the innings, feels his responsibility to aid England’s bid to make a comeback in this series in Stokes’ absence should the skipper suffer any blow.

"We'll see how he pulls up tomorrow, but for me, that is partially one of my roles, to make sure that he doesn't push himself to a ridiculous place with whatever he's dealing with at the moment," Pope said. "I'm sure the physios, the medics will work with him to lay out a plan, and then I'll help push him in the right direction."

Meanwhile, Stokes was England’s most effective seamer in the first Test in Leeds, increasing his workload following his knee surgery. In the second Test at Edgbaston, Stokes bowled 19 overs in the first innings and seven in the second before Team India hit gold and won the match by 336 runs, levelling the series.

Given Stokes’ latest injury scare, it remains unclear if he will bowl at any stage in this match or the remainder of the series.