England Playing 11 for 3rd Test of the ongoing Ashes series has been announced on the eve of the match at Headingley. Having lost the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s respectively, a proactive arrangement by the home team will see them taking the field tomorrow with a total of three changes to their combination.
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Vice-captain Ollie Pope sustained a shoulder injury in the last match and was subsequently ruled out of the series. Instead of bringing in a specialist batter in Dan Lawrence, England have decided to promote Harry Brook to No. 3. Brook, who had adapted well to No. 5, is unequivocally an interesting prospect as a top-order batter.
Furthermore, all-rounder Moeen Ali is back in the XI in place of Pope after having missed the last match due to an injury. All-rounder Chris Woakes and fast bowler Mark Wood are also set to play their first match of the series. Wood’s absence was questioned by many but he was facing availability issues. The short balls were very effective in the last match and Wood’s extra pace could be deadly in Leeds.
England Playing 11 For 3rd Test vs Australia at Headingley
Other than Pope, pacers Josh Tongue and James Anderson have also been left out. Both Tongue and Anderson have been rested after playing two consecutive Tests to manage their workload. The pitch is looking pretty green and Woakes’ ability to swing the ball should come in handy for the hosts.
Considering how spinner Jack Leach dismissed 10 batters in the last Test at this venue, Ali should be confident of contributing significantly especially after looking at the number of left-handed batters in the Australian side. Furthermore, Ali and Woakes’ arrivals have provided a shot in the arm to the English lower order.
England Playing XI – 1) Zak Crawley 2) Ben Duckett 3) Harry Brook 4) Joe Root 5) Jonny Bairstow (wk) 6) Ben Stokes (c) 7) Moeen Ali 8) Chris Woakes 9) Mark Wood 10) Ollie Robinson 11) Stuart Broad
How Many Of These Players Had Played In The Last Leeds Test?
The last Test in the city was played between England and New Zealand in June 2023. Interestingly, only five players in the current English Playing XI played that match. Zak Crawley, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad were part of England’s thumping victory over the Kiwis.
Bairstow played breathtaking knocks of 162 (157) and 71* (44) in the first and second innings respectively. Root, another local player, also scored a brisk half-century during a match-winning partnership alongside Bairstow in the second innings. England would want for both of them to play in the same manner in this must-win match as well.
