All the talking points ahead of England and India’s second Test
No Stokes but Pope offers hope while India seek Kohli back-up.
England and India resume their battle after last week’s classic first Test at Edgbaston.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at the key issues.
The Stokes effect
Pope on the fast track
The swift promotion of Surrey’s latest prodigy, Ollie Pope, to the international arena represents Ed Smith’s most radical act in the selection hot seat. Those who have seen him in full flow – a relatively slender number given he has played a grand total of 15 first-class matches – purr at his fluency at the crease but this is a serious ask. He is pegged to bat number four, despite regularly coming in two places lower for his county, and the intensity of the occasion is sure to be step up. But in shelving the experienced Dawid Malan for a 20-year-old rookie, England are making a conscious effort to future-proof their middle-order.
Spin it to win it
Root’s unlucky 13
Can Pujara be Kohli’s foil?
Kohli must wonder what more he can do after reeling off 200 runs in a losing cause. The answer is, not a lot, but the same is not true for his top-order colleagues. India badly need somebody to knuckle down and chip in with a major contribution and the most likely candidate could be the man who sat out at Edgbaston. Cheteshwar Pujara made a good decision in signing for Yorkshire to acclimatise to English conditions but his lack of red-ball form in that stint ultimately counted against him. Yet he still averages over 50 in Test cricket – considerably more than Murali Vijay or Shikhar Dhawan – and looks ripe for a recall.
