England has announced a squad for their upcoming Headingley Test. And there comes a call-up for Chris Woakes, Mark Wood & Moeen Ali in the announced squad. They will replace James Anderson, Josh Tongue & the injured Ollie Pope in the Playing XI.
The Playing XI was confirmed shortly before England’s Captain Ben Stokes, addressed the media at Headingley where his team must win to save the series after suffering humiliating defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s. Anderson’s exclusion was anticipated as he could scalp just three wickets at an average of 75.33 in the first two Test of Ashes 2023. He will make way for Chris Woakes who will play his first Test at home since September 2021. Despite featuring in less number of Tests his record of 94 wickets at 22.63 in England makes him a like-for-like replacement. In the absence of Pope who has been ruled out of the squad due to a dislocated shoulder, Woakes prowess with the bat is a plus point for England.
Moeen’s return to the middle order is the greatest positive for England as he adds depth to the lower-middle order. It is the reason why England has decided not to replace Pope with an additional batter. Harry Brook will fulfill Pope’s duties at No. 3. Brook has scored 132 runs at an average of 33 in four innings. But he has attracted lots of criticism for a soft dismissal at Lord’s after reaching his half-century.
Moeen Ali is fit & fine and would feature in Headingley Test
Moeen Ali who missed the Lord’s Test due to a cut to his knuckle of the spinning finger has attained full fitness & will return for Test format. He has been deemed fit to resume the action and will feature in Headingley Test. He is just two wickets behind the tally of 200 Test wickets. The return of Wood will boost England’s pace lineup. After missing the first two Tests Ali has returned for Headingley Test. This will be Mark’s first Test since his tour of Pakistan in December. It would also be his first competitive fixture since his last fixture for LSG in IPL 2023. He will fill the position of Josh Tongue who displayed a prolific show during the Lord’s Test returning with figures of five wickets including the prized wicket of Steve Smith and David Warner in both innings.
Ashes 2023, ENG vs AUS: England Squad
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood
