Jamie Overton has been named to England’s squad for their match against India in the fifth Test. The only addition to the team that participated in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, where India fought valiantly to get a draw and salvage the series, is Jamie Overton, who most recently played for Surrey in the County Championship.
In the fourth Test, England’s bowlers put in a demanding workout, bowling 257.1 overs in two innings. Jamie Overton return was made possible by captain Ben Stokes’ admission after the game that new legs were needed.
“Everyone will be rather exhausted and weary coming into the last game of the series if you consider how long we’ve been out in the field and the overs we bowled as a bowling unit. Everyone will be evaluated, and ideally we can make the most of the next two or three days of rest before having to make a choice,” Stokes was cited by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
“These recuperation days will be crucial, and in order to get some new legs in, we may need to make some choices. However, that won’t be determined until the last game approaches,” he continued.
In the meantime, Jamie Overton comeback would be his first Test match appearance since his 2022 debut.
Throughout the first four Test matches, England has mostly maintained the same bowling attack with just minor adjustments. After the first two games, Josh Tongue was replaced by a healthy Jofra Archer, while Liam Dawson was brought in at Old Trafford to replace the injured Shoaib Bashir. With more bowls than any other player on either side (167), Chris Woakes has taken the brunt of the load. Brydon Carse (155) and Stokes (140) are next in line. Interestingly, Archer hasn’t played in the red-ball format for four years.
Woakes could now be replaced by Gus Atkinson, who was anticipated to appear in the series at some time. After suffering a hamstring injury, he demonstrated his fitness by playing for Surrey’s second XI last week. With 11 wickets in the series, Tongue is still England’s second-highest wicket-taker and is still a serious candidate for selection.
The England team for the fifth Test match
Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (WK), Ben Stokes (C), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue
India’s fifth-test squad
Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (WK), Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dhruv Jurel (WK).
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