Major rejig as England name XI for Headingley Test
Senior pacer James Anderson has been benched alongside the impressive Josh Tongue with England opting to bring in Mark Wood and Chris Woakes for the third Ashes Test in Leeds which begins on July 6.
2-0 down in the Test series, England had lost Ollie Pope to injury, and have brought back the recovered Moeen Ali into the playing XI with Harry Brook set to occupy the key No.3 spot.
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Tongue had taken five wickets in the second Test match, impressing with his excellent channels, and dismissed Steve Smith twice in the Test. But England opted to give Wood's additional pace the edge.
Anderson, on the other hand, has taken just three wickets in the two Tests, and has been benched in favour of Woakes, whose record in English conditions is impressive. He also adds more weight with the bat lower down the order.
Ricky Ponting, on the ICC Review, had predicted Anderson's omission for Headingley.
“He (Anderson) looked like the most disappointing bowler for England so far,” Ponting had said. “What you expect from James Anderson is when he's got that new ball in his hand, he's taking early wickets, he's moving the ball, and he's not going for any runs. We haven't seen that in the series so far.
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“And that's not a direct criticism of James Anderson. He's been one of the all time greats of the game, his longevity and his wicket-taking ability, but if I was looking at the bowlers I saw last week, I think he's the one that's looked to have the least amount of penetration.
“(Ollie) Robinson's had less penetration, but he's probably actually bowled a bit better. He's been in control of the game more than Anderson has."
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The rejig in the batting order also sees Brook go up to No.3 to replace Pope, with Joe Root retained in his favoured No.4 spot.
England XI for Leeds: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad.
