After being selected in the Lions squad for Friday’s tour game in Northampton, Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes have been given the opportunity to prove why they belong in England’s squad for the first Test match against India.
Tongue played in England’s innings victory over Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month and has been called up to take on a formidable India A team, which included a number of Test players in last week’s opening tour game in Canterbury.
In his recent recovery from an ankle injury, Woakes claimed six wickets for Warwickshire and will intensify his own preparations as scheduled.
The revelation that Gus Atkinson is a serious doubt for the first Test, which begins on June 20 at Headingley, after spraining his hamstring against Zimbabwe dealt a serious blow to England’s seam stocks on Tuesday. Jofra Archer (thumb) won’t be match fit until the second Test at the latest, and Mark Wood (knee) has already been ruled out of the series.
With Shoaib Bashir expected to remain the front-line spinner and Ben Stokes playing as an all-rounder, Woakes and Tongue will be vying for positions in the seam attack alongside Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, and Sam Cook. Stokes did not appear in the 13-man squad announced on Wednesday, despite having previously hinted at the possibility of playing for the Lions at Northampton if necessary.
Zaman Akhter, Henry Crocombe, and Dan Mousley have been freed to play for respective counties in the T20 Blast, while Sonny Baker (ankle) and Josh Hull (bruised heel) are out of the Lions’ starting lineup. Rehan Ahmed has joined England’s T20I squad, and Jordan Cox has been added to the team as he continues to heal from a side injury.
In the opening tour match at Canterbury, which ended in a high-scoring draw, Karun Nair made a strong case for inclusion with his first-innings score of 204. Although Sai Sudharsan and new Test captain Shubman Gill are now scheduled to travel with the main squad on Friday, KL Rahul and Akash Deep are both anticipated to play for them in Northampton.
Farhan Ahmed, Jordan Cox, Rocky Flintoff, Emilio Gay, Tom Haines, George Hill, Max Holden, Ben McKinney, Eddie Jack, Ajeet Singh Dale, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, and James Rew (captain and wk) make up the England Lions team.
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