England v India: fifth men’s cricket Test, day one – live | England v India 2025
Key events
England win the toss and choose to bowl first
Ollie Pope wins it and England will bowl first. It’s green, it’s overcast, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.
Matt Dony writes in:
Your preamble makes it sound a bit like Stokes has been replaced by 3 players. Which makes complete sense, as it often feels like he’s worth at least three ‘normal’ cricketers. Ben Stokes the inspirational captain, Ben Stokes the outrageously gifted cricketer, Ben Stokes the maelstrom of personality and will-to-win. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another sportsperson who just makes things happen around him like Stokes does. He’s astonishing.
It is a proper conundrum trying to replace him. They’ve brought in Jacob Bethell at six but, on this surface, that requires someone to make up Stokes’ overs as a quick. You’re basically calling up two people to replace him.
Time to get stuck in to some preview material:
Stuart Broad is having a look at the green pitch and says “it’s a definite win-the-toss-and-bowl”.
Ben Stokes has been having a chat with Sky. He talks about his braced front leg helping him bowl the way he’s done this summer, and is asked about the spiciness of this series: “Honestly, I think it gets over-egged sometimes, massively. It’s something as players that we don’t lose sleep over. If there’s a bit of niggle out there, it’s part of the game.”
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to a damp Oval. We’ve had the handshakes that didn’t happen and the pitch palaver, but we’ve also got this: a fifth Test, with the series yet to be decided. I’ll embrace that, as should you.
I’m staring at a greenish surface, one the Indian players are getting a pretty decent look at; I’m intrigued to see how a refreshed, rather experimental England attack goes on it. A reminder, there’s no Ben Stokes, with Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton all shipped in. There’s plenty to talk about even before the action starts. Drop me a line, and let’s enjoy the last proper show of the summer.
