Ben Stokes OUT of England's crucial final Test against India as new captain named

Ben Stokes has been forced to withdraw from England's final Test against India at The Oval due to injury.

Stokes battled through the fifth day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford with a shoulder injury, bowling long spells while grimacing after almost every delivery. But with such a short turnaround between the matches, he will miss the decider, which starts on Thursday.

Ollie Pope will step up from vice-captain to captain the side, who hold a 2-1 lead in the series. Stokes has been replaced by allrounder Jacob Bethell, whose left-arm spin allows England to include an extra seamer at the expense of Liam Dawson.

Bethell has previously been used as a No.3 but will bat in Stokes' position of No.6. England have opted to almost completely refresh their bowling attack after Stokes, Jofra Archer and Bryson Carse slogged away on a dead wicket in Manchester.

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Only Chris Woakes has kept his place in the bowling attack, which sees Josh Tongue recalled, alongside Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton, who will play their first Tests of the series.

The loss of Stokes is a significant blow for England after their captain played superbly at Old Trafford, scoring his first Test century for two years. He took 5-72 with the ball in the first innings before getting through cramp to make 141 with the bat as England posted a mammoth first-innings total.

But he was seen struggling with his right shoulder on the morning of the final day and looked in pain while bowling the opening spell. His absence, plus the rotation of the seam attack, changes the make-up of the team.

Woakes is now by far the most senior bowler, with Tongue set to play his sixth Test, Atkinson his 13th and Overton just his second - and his first since a match against New Zealand in 2022.

Despite the draw-friendly wicket at Old Trafford, the series has been an engrossing spectacle, which has included plenty of needle between the two sides.

England drew criticism for their behaviour on the final day of the fourth Test as they tried to encourage Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jajeda to shake hands for a draw before they had reached their hundreds.

The controversy continued on Tuesday when India coach Gautam Gambhir was caught on video arguing with groundsman Lee Fortis during a nets session.

England XI for fifth Test v India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.