Ben Stokes has no grudges against Rabada following their face off at Lord’s

The penultimate Test match between South Africa and England is set to commence on Thursday at the Kennington Oval in London. This is a landmark Test match as The Oval will be hosting its 100 Test match. After winning the first Test at Lord’s, hosts England capitulated against a resurgent Proteas side at Nottingham.

One of South Africa’s premier fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada was handed a one-match suspension following an aggressive send off to England vice captain Ben Stokes at Lord’s. Rabada was caught on the stump mic using the F-word after he dismissed Stokes in the first innings for 56. The star bowler was also fined 15 % of his match fees for his behavior.

No bad blood against Rabada cites Stokes

However, Stokes has conceded that he doesn’t hold any grudges against players who want to express themselves on the field. The all-rounder also said that he himself is very aggressive whenever he takes the field representing England.

“The ICC were the people who locked down on that and gave him that ban but I don’t hold any grudges about people wanting to be like that.

“It shows how much they care and want to perform for their country.

“I have got that side to me as well, so I don’t think there is ever going to be any bad blood if he chooses to go on like that.”

Ben Stokes, a medium pacer himself, has had quite a few altercations on the field the latest one being with Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal. Speaking about the series, Stokes stressed on the significance of adapting to the conditions, something England didn’t do at Trent Bridge.

“I think the biggest question is just being able to adapt better,” citing England’s poor batting display, “we obviously didn’t quite get to grips with that in that last innings.

“So, I think the quicker we can learn to adapt to different situations, the better off we will be.

“No one is ever going to get questioned in that changing room about their fight and desire of wanting to perform for England.

“It is 1-1, both games have been pretty one-sided, and we just need to make sure we come out here and put in a better performance than we did at Trent Bridge and get on the front foot in the series.”

It has been a very long tour for South Africa. They have already lost the T20 and ODI series but stand a fair chance of finishing the tour on a high by winning the Test series. England are under pressure following a heavy defeat in the second Test. The batting looks a little shaky as the hosts rely too heavily on Cook and Root.

Westley in for Balance

An injury to Gary Balance has prompted the English selectors to call upon Essex batsman Tom Westley for the third Test. Westley is certain to make his Test debut in London. The selection of Liam Dawson has come under a cloud following an ordinary performance in Nottingham. The left-arm spinner might be replaced with an extra batsman or leg-spinner Adil Rashid.