MANCHESTER: England captain Ben Stokes proclaimed “pain is just an emotion” as he insisted he will do everything in his power to feature as a fully-fledged all-rounder in next week’s series decider with India.

The fourth Test at Old Trafford, which ended in a draw on Sunday, was a personal triumph for Stokes as he became just the fourth England cricketer after Tony Greig, Ian Botham and Gus Atkinson to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test.

Stokes, 34, is also now only the third man in Test history to have scored 7,000 runs and taken 200 wickets after

West Indies’ Garry Sobers and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.

But the performance came at a cost for Stokes, whose career has been blighted by hamstring trouble, as he struggled with cramp and more general soreness.

Meanwhile a bicep problem in his right arm emerged on Sunday’s final day in Manchester.

His latest injuries are perhaps unsurprising given a heavy workload that has seen lively fast-medium bowler Stokes already send down 140 overs — the most he has bowled in any series.

However, Stokes, the leading wicket-taker of the series with 17 at an average of 25.2, expects to take the field at the Oval on Thursday as England attempt to seal a 3-1 campaign triumph.

“Hopefully I will be alright going for the last one,” he told reporters. “It’s just a workload sort of thing. We got a fair amount of overs and everything starts creeping up on you. I’ll keep trying, keep going and as I say to all the bowlers: pain is just an emotion.”

Stokes, who said “I’ve physically been better,” added: “I’ll always try to run through a brick wall for the team.

“I don’t want to eat my words but the likelihood I won’t play [at the Oval] is very unlikely.”

England seemed well set for victory at Old Trafford when India collapsed to none for two before eroding any bit of a 311-run deficit on first innings.

But KL Rahul and India captain Shubman Gill kept England at bay with an excellent third-wicket partnership of 188.

Stokes, who did not bowl on Saturday, had Rahul lbw for 90 during an eight-over spell on Sunday morning and England hopes were high when Jofra Archer finally removed Gill for 103 on the stroke of lunch.

However, Joe Root’s drop of Ravindra Jadeja from the next ball proved expensive, with the India all-rounder and Washington Sundar batting out the rest of the day as both left-handers made unbeaten hundreds.

“When the reality [hits] with where the game drifted towards, there is obviously going to be that comedown,” said Stokes.

“You can get the vibe that we’ve thrown everything and not been able to get over the line, there is that sense of disappointment and almost heartbreak — me being a captain, I was as well.”

England have added fast-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton to their squad for this week’s decisive fifth Test against India.

But Stokes acknowledged it was also part of his role as skipper to raise England’s morale, saying: “I’ve got to be that upbeat person as well.”

OVERTON ADDED TO ENGLAND SQUAD

The return of the Surrey paceman is the only change to the group from Old Trafford.

Stokes’ men had been in pole position to move into an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series after taking a first-innings lead of 311. But they were only able to take four wickets in India’s second innings, even though Chris Woakes struck twice in the first over.

Stokes hinted “fresh legs” might be needed among the bowlers for the fifth Test.

Woakes and Brydon Carse have both played all four matches so far while Jofra Archer has featured in back-to-back Tests following a four-year absence.

Overton, who won his only Test cap in 2022, joins fellow seamers Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue in a 15-man squad pushing for a spot in the starting eleven.

Tongue featured in the first two Tests of the series and took 11 wickets but was expensive, while Atkinson has not played a first-class match since England’s win against Zimbabwe in May.Liam Dawson looks set to be retained as England’s frontline spinner despite taking just one wicket in Manchester across two innings.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2025