'Deal with it': Ben Stokes remains firm on injury substitution despite Chris Woakes setback at Oval

Ben Stokes remains firm on injury substitution (AP Photo)

After England’s six-run defeat to India at The Oval, which cost them a chance at sealing the series, skipper Ben Stokes said his stance on the injury substitute rule remains unchanged — even though the team was effectively a player short due to Chris Woakes' shoulder injury. Despite their best efforts, Stokes' England were unable to secure the series victory they had been vying for both at home and away against India since their 4-1 success at home in 2018, largely due to persistent spells from Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.

Due to a shoulder injury sustained during fielding on the first day, England were unable to use their seasoned all-rounder Chris Woakes for a significant portion of this match. Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue bore a disproportionate amount of the bowling burden. Woakes did not even have to face a delivery when he batted; instead, he was there to support Atkinson at the other end who tried to score the last runs to win.

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During the news conference, Stokes discussed the substitution rule and stated: "Yeah, I just do not see it being a thing like, sorry about this, but if someone gets injured, tough, deal with it. That is how we view it. I could have got into this game knowing I had a sore shoulder, and I will give it a go and hopefully I will come through, but if I do not, I know I have got someone else who can come in and replace me. You select 11, and it is actually tactical, so I feel like there is room where you could actually manipulate it a bit. So I remain heavily against it. Just sobs low that this had to happen the week after I said it, but my view has not changed."

When wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant batted for India in the fourth Manchester Test despite suffering an injury, Stokes had objected to the idea of an injured substitution.