Jofra Archer makes his comeback into the England Test setup after a 4-year gap, replacing Josh Tongue in the playing XI as England retains Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes in the line-up.
England Reacts to Edgbaston Defeat with Bowling Shake-Up
England has named their playing XI for the Lord’s Test, making just one change to the squad. The decision comes in the wake of a crushing 336-run defeat at Edgbaston, which allowed the visitors to level the series 1-1. England’s pace attack came under intense scrutiny after being thoroughly outplayed by the Indian batters and failing to deliver wickets when it mattered most.
The performance sparked widespread calls from former players and experts for changes in the bowling department to strengthen their wicket-taking options.
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Taking that into account, England has included Jofra Archer in the line-up. He was already part of the squad from the 2nd Test. Head coach Brendon McCullum had previously mentioned that Archer was in contention and confirmed they were looking to strengthen the bowling attack.
Jofra Archer will now return to Test cricket for the first time since 2021, when he last played against India in Ahmedabad. After missing several tours due to fitness concerns, he’s set to feature at Lord's for his 12th Test cap, leading the England pace attack on a fast wicket.
Josh Tongue, despite being England's leading wicket-taker with 11 wickets in two matches, has been dropped to make way for Archer. Meanwhile, the batting line-up remains unchanged, with Zak Crawley retained to open alongside Ben Duckett despite facing some criticism.
Notably, right-arm seamer Gus Atkinson, who averages 11.10 at Lord’s, has not been included in the third Test, even though he returned to the squad after recovering from an injury last month.
England Playing 11 for the Third Test
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
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