Ashes 2023: The England Cricket Board (ECB) has announced its 15-men strong squad for the third ENG vs AUS test at Headingley, Leeds. Mark Wood and Chris Waokes have been added to the decorated England squad, which is 0-2 down after two matches.
England intended to bring in Mark Wood in the second ENG vs AUS test, but the pacer made himself unfit for selection, which gave him an additional week to rest. Along with Wood, Chris Woakes’ addition would further strengthen the English test squad, which already had the services of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali has retained his place in the side and England would hope him to play a big role in the third Ashes. Ali was rested in the second game due to a finger injury and Rehan Ahmed was brought into the side as his cover. However, with now him being fully fit, England has dropped Rehan Ahmed.
Ollie Pope, who suffered a shoulder injury during the second ENG vs AUS test, has also retained his spot, however, his participation will become clearer following the scans. Pope hurt his shoulder during Australia’s 1st innings on day one. He then joined his team on the field in the second innings but unfortunately, he aggravated his injury.
Dan Lawrence is expected to provide cover for Ollie Pope if the scans rule him out of the test match. He will be the like-for-like replacement for Pope at number three for England. Meanwhile, England has again overlooked wicketkeeper batter Ben Foakes.
Ashes 2023: England Squad for third ENG vs AUS Test
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Ben Stokes-led England are already two down in the five-match test series. The mighty Aussies clinched a two-wicket win in the opening test of the Ashes 2023 and supplemented it with another 43 runs to get a massive lead against England.
In the second ENG vs AUS test, that finished last night, England fell 43 runs short to level Australia’s lead. Skipper Ben Stokes launched his scathing attack with his batting brilliance and made Australia remember the horrors of the past.
While Stokes looked determined to take his side to another famous win, he got short of partners, who could launch a similar attack from the other end. The Southpaw scored 155 runs and single-handedly gave jitters to entire Australia.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood somehow managed to get the wicket of Ben Stokes, which sealed the game for them. It then became a mere formality to dismiss England’s tale and get the 2-0 lead for Australia.
For more details head to England’s official website.
