England Playing XI Archives

Veteran spinner returns as England reveal playing XI for fourth Test against India

MANCHESTER: Veteran spinner Liam Dawson has been named in the England playing XI for the fourth Test against India, set to be played here at Old Trafford on Wednesday, 23 July.

Dawson is the only change in England’s playing XI that faced India at Lord’s last week. The left-arm spinner has returned to the fold in Test cricket for the first time in eight years for the Three Lions.

The 35-year-old spinner has replaced Shoaib Bashir, who suffered a broken finger on his left hand during India’s first essay in Lord’s Test last week.

Having made his Test debut against India in 2016, Dawson has so far featured in only three games for England, with his last appearance coming against South Africa in 2017.

However, he has caught the selectors’ eyes with an impressive performance in domestic cricket, despite being 35 years old. He has taken 12 five-wicket hauls, including three ten-wicket hauls, since 2021.

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In Bashir’s absence, Dawson will earn his fourth Test cap, having made his most recent appearance in July 2017 against South Africa. As a left-arm spinner, he has 371 first-class wickets to his name, but has been especially prolific in recent seasons.

Liam Dawson has demonstrated his all-round ability for Hampshire since the start of the 2023 season. He has 124 scalps at an impressive average of 25.64 alongside 956 runs at a mouthwatering average of 59.75.

England are currently 2-1 in the newly renamed Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, while India is in search of a win with the five-match series on the line.

England Playing XI

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer

READ: Heartbroken Siraj opens up on India’s narrow loss in Lord’s Test

England unveil Playing XI for second Test against India

England has announced an unchanged playing XI for the second Test against India, which is set to commence on Wednesday at Edgbaston.

The three lions have named a similar playing XI to that from the first Test, in which they secured a five-wicket victory to take 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

England defeated India in the opening match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy despite the visitors piling up a significant score of 471 in the first innings. The second Test is set to take place at Edgbaston, where India have not won a single game in their previous eight attempts.

Among the notable exclusions from the Playing XI was Jofra Archer, who was added to the squad for the first time since the 2021 tour of India due to a string of injuries.

According to the report, Jofra Archer, who missed the team’s training session, was not included in England’s playing XI because of a family emergency. Meanwhile, he will rejoin the team in Birmingham on Tuesday.

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The Barbados-born pacer has been carefully brought back to the England side. The 30-year-old first represented England in white-ball cricket, followed by a four-day encounter in the County Championship for Sussex last week.

It’s worth mentioning that after the second Test, the two teams will travel to London for the third match of the series, which is scheduled at the iconic Lord’s from 10 to 14 July.

Following that, the fourth Test will commence at Old Trafford on 23 July. The series will conclude with the fifth Test at The Oval, scheduled from 31 July to 4 August.

England Playing XI for the second Test

Ben Stokes (c), Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook (vc), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir

READ: Gautam Gambhir faces growing pressure ahead of second England Test

England unveils playing XI for Champions Trophy opener against Australia

LAHORE: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), on Thursday, announced England’s playing XI for their opening match against Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The skipper Jos Buttler-led side is coming off a disastrous tour of India with an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to India earlier in the month.

England’s team will be eager to perform better in the marquee tournament following their dismal performances at the recently held ICC events.

After failing to qualify for the ODI World Cup semi-final and T20 World Cup final, Jos Butler was under huge pressure, and there were reports that he might be axed as captain.

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England’s team will take on Australia, which has yet to win a game in the ICC Champions Trophy after 2009, here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

The English squad welcomes the return of Jamie Smith, who had been injured during the recently concluded ODI series against India.

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Smith will bat at No.3 and take over as wicketkeeper. Jofra Archer will lead the pace attack alongside fellow seamers Brydon Carse and Mark Wood.

England Playing XI against Australia :

Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.

READ: Champions Trophy: Pakistan sanctioned for slow over-rate against New Zealand

England’s Playing XI for second Test against Pakistan announced

LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday, named their Playing XI for the second Test against Pakistan, marking the return of their regular captain Ben Stokes.

Stokes had been sidelined since August 2024 due to a torn hamstring which he sustained during this year’s edition of The Hundred.

The injury put the all-rounder in doubt for the Pakistan series but he recovered sooner than expected and eventually attained complete fitness for the second Test.

Ben Stokes replaced right-arm pacer Chris Woakes, marking one of the two changes made by the touring party. The second change saw Matthew Potts replacing the rested Gus Atkinson.

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The pacers experienced a stiff workload in the series opener on the surface, favouring the batters. Atkinson bowled a total of 39 overs across two innings, followed by Carse with 38, and Woakes with 35.

Atkinson and Woakes were a regular part of all the six Tests of England home summer while Carse is assumed to be well-rested, considering his absence due to a ban that spanned from June to August.

Meanwhile, left-handed batter Ben Duckett has been reinstated as England’s opener for the second Test against Pakistan after recovering from a dislocated thumb, suffered on the second day of the series opener.

As a result, Jamie Smith has been moved to No. 7 to accommodate Ben Stokes in his preferred batting position of No.6.

England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

READ: Pakistan unveil spin-laden lineup for second Test against England

England name 6ft 7in tall pacer in Playing XI for third Sri Lanka Test

LONDON: Leicestershire pacer Josh Hull will make his Test debut for England as he was named in the home side’s Playing XI for the third Test of the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka.

Hull, who was added to England’s squad ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, will make his international debut on Friday.

Josh Hull will replace Matthew Motts in the hosts’ lineup, who lead the three-match series 2-0.

The 6ft 7in left-arm pacer managed to take only 11 wickets in his nine appearances at the County Championship but his physical attributes drew the attention of England’s management, who presumably believed that his towering height would provide him with an extra bounce.

Josh Hull made his debut for the England Lions last month and returned match figures of 5 for 74 in the Tour Match against Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, Hull has also been named in England’s white-ball squad for the home series against Australia but his availability for the T20I series opener at The Oval on September 11 is in jeopardy, considering a tight 24-hour difference between the commencement of the third Test and the first T20I.

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Ollie Pope, who is serving as the interim captain in the absence of injured Ben Stokes, stated that Josh Hull could be “the point of difference” for England in the third Test against Sri Lanka.

“When you’re 6ft 7in and you can get it down pushing up to the 85-90mph mark, and with a bit of swing with the left-arm angle, there’s a lot to like about it,” Pope said. “It’s a really exciting week for him,” said Pope.

“With the height, you can draw in some more edges with that extra bounce,” he explained. “It makes it a lot harder to drive the ball, especially if there is a little bit of bounce at The Oval – which there can be, especially early in the game.

“And then the angle… We’ve played four right-arm seamers for the first two games, so it’s just something different for the batters to think about in the opposition, with the ball coming into the right-hander, and obviously away from the left-hander, with that swing. It’s a point of difference, and he’s got some good pace as well when he’s clicking in the nets.”

England’s Playing XI for third Test against Sri Lanka: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (capt), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Josh Hull, Shoaib Bashir.

READ: Sarfaraz Ahmed opens up on the future of his professional career

England announce Playing XI for first Test against Sri Lanka

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday, announced their Playing XI for the first Test of the three-match home series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on August 21.

England made two forced changes to their Playing XI as their Test skipper Ben Stokes and opener Zak Crawley were sidelined due to injuries.

Stokes suffered a hamstring injury during The Hundred fixture between Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers.

He underwent scans in Leeds last week and it was determined that he will miss the three-match home series against Sri Lanka.

Crawley, on the other hand, was ruled out of the series due to a fractured finger. He sustained the injury while attempting a catch in England’s last Test of the three-match series against West Indies.

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Stokes will be replaced by Durham seamer Matthew Potts, who made his return to the team for the first time since June 2023 while Dan Lawrence will open the innings for the home side.

“With Ben Stokes (hamstring) and Zak Crawley (finger) both missing through injury, Durham seamer Matthew Potts returns to the side for the first time since June 2023. Surrey batter Dan Lawrence will open the batting in Crawley’s absence,” ECB stated.

Young middle-order batter Harry Brook has been named England’s vice-captain and will support interim captain Ollie Pope.

“Yorkshire middle-order batter Harry Brook has been named vice-captan for the three-match series and will support captain Ollie Pope,” ECB added.

England XI for the first Test vs Sri Lanka: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vc), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

Sri Lanka Squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (vc), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake.

READ: Pakistan unveil Playing XI for first Test against Bangladesh

England unveil Playing XI for second West Indies Test

England have announced their Playing XI for the second Test match against the West Indies, scheduled to commence at Trent Bridge on Thursday, 18 July.

The hosts, who lead the three-match series 1-0, made one change to their Playing XI as Durham pacer Mark Wood replaced James Anderson, who concluded his decorated career on a winning note as England crushed West Indies by an innings and 114 runs in the first Test at Lord’s.

Wood, who has 108 international wickets to his name in the longest format, will pair up with in-form Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes to form England’s fast bowling unit, bolstered by their all-rounder captain Ben Stokes.

Youngster Shoaib Bashir will lead England’s spin bowling attack with Joe Root providing the cover.

England started their busy summer season on a high as Gus Atkinson’s heroics with the ball gave them a confidence-boosting victory.

The debutant pacer dismantled the West Indies batting lineup in the first innings with a seven-for. The touring side, as a result, only managed to register 121 runs on the board.

England batters banked on the momentum provided by Atkinson and scored 371 runs in response with Zak Crawley, debutant wicketkeeper batter Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook scoring half-centuries.

Atkinson continued from where he left off and backed his seven-for with a five-wicket haul to steer England to a massive victory in the series opener.

England Playing XI for second West Indies Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c) Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

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James Anderson left out of England’s Playing XI for third Ashes Test

Veteran pacer James Anderson has been left out of England’s Playing XI for the third Ashes Test, scheduled to commence from July 6 at Headingley.

Hosts England, who are 0-2 down in the ongoing Ashes series, on Wednesday, named their Playing XI for the must-win third Test and made three changes.

Veteran pacer James Anderson has been excluded from the Playing XI and was replaced by lethal pacer Mark Wood.

According to a statement released by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday, both Anderson and fellow paceman Josh Tongue have been “rested,” while express pacer Wood and fast-bowling all-arounder Chris Woakes have taken their places.

Moeen Ali, who came out of Test retirement for the Ashes, returned to England’s Playing XI for the third Test after missing the Lord’s Test due to a blister on his right hand’s index finger.

The off-spinner replaced England’s vice-captain Ollie Pope, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series with a dislocated shoulder.

Harry Brook has now been promoted up the order to take Pope’s place at No 3.

Ben Stokes-led England are eyeing a miraculous comeback in the Ashes remainder and will have to imitate an 86-year-old record of Don Bradman’s Australian side to shrug off the 2-0 deficit to win an Ashes series.

On the contrary, if Australia emerge victorious at Headingley, Pat Cummins will become the first Australian captain to win an away Ashes series after a long 22-year hiatus.

England’s Playing XI for the third Test:

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad.

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