As if the prospect of Bazball colliding with the Indian juggernaut was not mouth-watering enough, this eagerly anticipated first Test became just a little more spicy on Tuesday.
Certainly, news that Shoaib Bashir has been forced to return home from the United Arab Emirates to try to sort out a mess which is in danger of ruining his Cinderella-like journey to the Test ball game only added to England’s resolve to upset all logical odds here on Thursday.
Ben Stokes was already looking lean and fit as he revealed for the first time full details of the chronic knee injury the England captain hopes has finally been cured by surgery he turned to in desperation after the World Cup as a ‘last option.’
But the decision of the Indian authorities and by implication the all-powerful BCCI to make it difficult for an English player to get into this country for one of the biggest series in Test cricket simply because of his Pakistani heritage may have made Stokes mean too.
And, England hope, India will not like Stokes when he’s angry. ‘I’m devastated for Bash,’ said Stokes, choosing his words carefully. ‘I didn’t want this type of situation to be his first involvement with the England team. I feel for him.’
Ben Stokes has said he is ‘devastated’ for Shoaib Bashir after the young spinner was unable to travel with England for their five-match Test tour of India
Bashir has been forced to return home from the United Arab Emirates after his visa to travel to India was not approved in time
The news will have fired up Stokes’ England side, who will begin the series in Hyderabad on Thursday
Bashir was never, of course, going to be thrown in to the first Test. He is here as an off-spinner of tremendous potential who might feature in the series further down the line if Rob Key really is correct in believing him to be England’s next great slow bowler.
But that’s not the point. The point is that it is unfair and unjust for Bashir to be treated this way by a country with all the power and financial muscle in world cricket and his team-mates will be trying to win this first Test as much for him now as themselves.
Not least Stokes. Brendon McCullum called his captain ‘a greyhound’ on Sunday and it is noticeable how slim and sleek Stokes has looked in training here as he attempts to put behind him the injury nightmare that has stripped him of at least some of his superpowers.
Stokes was coy on Tuesday about how much weight he has lost – it is believed to be between eight and 10 kilos – but he knows the better shape he is in, the less pressure he will put on his left knee – and the better his chances of bowling again and batting pain-free.
‘What is this, WeightWatchers?’ smiled Stokes when asked how much he had lost. ‘What I do know is I’ve worked very hard to get myself into this condition. Hopefully it is something that will give me a little bit longer in the side. I’m 32 now. I want to play for England for as long as I can and the older you get the harder you have to work.’
Stokes has always been reluctant to go into detail about just how bad the injury that is still expected to stop him bowling until the summer really was. But far from having the knee ‘cleaned out’, as he has suggested, he now admits ‘I had a big bone spur taken out of my knee. And I’ve had some stitches put in my meniscus.
‘I’ve not given too much away before now,’ he continued. ‘Surgery is always the last option because it can potentially even end careers. Throughout this whole process we were always pushing surgery back as long as we could. But after the World Cup, the way I was, it was definitely time to have an operation.’
The England captain, who recently underwent surgery to remedy a knee injury, was looking lean and fit during a nets session this week
Stokes opened up on the injury claiming that after the World Cup ‘it was definitely time to have an operation’
The captain is not the only one to look in great shape here. Jonny Bairstow, told to get fully fit by managing director Key ahead of this tour, is noticeably trimmer and, Stokes confirmed, will bat at five in the absence of Harry Brook. Ollie Robinson and even Jimmy Anderson, who didn’t have any weight to lose, look eye-catchingly different too.
Bairstow’s move to five means the keeping gloves will go back to Ben Foakes, with Stokes telling the Yorkshireman to not worry about anything other than his batting. ‘We all know the impact Jonny made in my first summer as captain,’ said Stokes. ‘And there’s no doubt about the skill Ben Foakes possesses with the gloves.’
England will probably not decide on the make-up of their attack until the last moment as they do not want to give India any time to change the nature of the pitch prepared for this Test. But the one thing that looks certain is a ‘two-tone’ surface bare at both ends will take appreciable turn from the first morning.
And that means England have not ruled out playing all three of their remaining spinners – the fit-again Jack Leach, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and uncapped slow-left armer Tom Hartley, leaving themselves in the absence of Stokes the bowler with just one seamer.
Stokes even suggested that Joe Root, who simply must have a big series with the bat if England are to win here, might open the bowling with his off-spin and attack in particular the left-hander at the top of the India order in Yashavsvi Jaiswal.
Brendan McCullum noted his captain’s transformation and called him a ‘greyhound’
Other stars including Jimmy Anderson were also looking fit and strong during the session
Stokes also suggested that England could utilise Joe Root in the bowling attack
‘It will be a decision we’ll have to make before every Test,’ said Stokes. ‘India is one of those places where you’ve got to think about selection a lot more than anywhere else in the world because of what you can get from the wicket.’
It is still more likely both Anderson and Mark Wood, who declared himself fully fit on Tuesday and desperate to make up for the disappointment of the World Cup, will play alongside Leach and either Ahmed or Hartley – and the Lancashire man has looked prominent in training, taking one superb catch in practice to suggest he is a three-dimensional player.
Whatever line-up England choose they will do things their way in the hope of adding the biggest scalp yet for Bazball. ‘The challenge of India is always exciting,’ added Stokes. ‘We’ve got an amazing opportunity in front of us. If we stay true to ourselves as a team and individuals all we can do is go out there and put our best foot forward.’
And do it for their absent friend Bashir.
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnnZ7AtLXNoGSmmZ5ixKm7jJ%2BcpaRdm7%2BwuYycqa6ho5p6tLTIqWSdnaOYv6quxJ1kmqtdobansYyonWaokafBunnBsmSdnaaWwLWt056bZp6ZlruksY4%3D