Vaibhav Tripathi
England’s playing eleven for the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Thursday, 6 July, has been revealed. Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood have been included in the line-up, replacing Ollie Pope, James Anderson, and Josh Tongue. Pope’s series is over due to a dislocated shoulder, making way for Moeen’s return to the team.
Anderson, who was lacklustre in the first two Tests with only three wickets to his name, has been dropped. Tongue has been replaced by the fit-again Wood, who is set to play his first Test of the English summer.
Stokes, however, seemed confident that the veteran pace bowler would make a comeback. “We were very open and honest, and clear with each other before the series started, that it’s going to be very tough ask to ask all the bowlers to play every game this summer,” Stokes said. “It’s a good chance for Jimmy to have a rest up and then get ready to charge in from the Jimmy Anderson End at Old Trafford next week,” he added.
Australia currently leads the five-Test series with two victories. England must win all three remaining matches to reclaim the urn and become only the second team to secure an Ashes series victory from a 2-0 deficit.
England’s Playing XI for the Third Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad