England picked their Playing XI a day before the third Test against India. The match will begin at Lord’s in London on July 10. Jofra Archer has replaced star pacer Josh Tongue, who has played well in his two games.
He last represented England in white against Virat Kohli’s team at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
After four years, Jofra Archer will play his first Test match.
There were talks of England bringing in Gus Atkinson for the upcoming match, but they have retained Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes to form a formidable combination. England has the chance to take a lead in the series, which is currently level at 1-1 after India won the Edgbaston match by a huge margin on the final day.
Ben Duckett, the series opener’s Player of the Match, will open with Zak Crawley, while Ollie Pope might bat at No. 3. Young but in-form Harry Brook will join seasoned Joe Root in the middle order, followed by skipper Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith. Smith, the wicketkeeper-batter, has been making key runs at his batting position and has practically secured his status in the team.
Archer, Carse, and Woakes will manage the pace batteries, while Shoaib Bashir will again play specialist spinner. Bashir has scored many of runs in the prior two games, but the conditions are predicted to help him more than at previous places, which bodes well for him before the crucial match. His Lord’s matchup with Rishabh Pant will be intriguing.
England’s 3rd Test team against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
India
