England squad for 5th Test: England are looking primed to make some changes to their bowling attack for the 5th Test of the IND vs ENG Test series after spending a long time in the field in the 4th Test in Manchester.
The Anderson-Tendulkar trophy currently stands 2-1 in England’s favour heading into the last Test of the series. England failed to take an unassailable 3-1 lead as India escaped with a draw at Old Trafford through commendable batting efforts from KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar, as the quartet helped India bat out five sessions to save the game.
While Rahul got out for 90, the other three went on to make their respective centuries. What India also did in Manchester was keep England in the field for 257.1 overs throughout the game, especially tiring their bodies and minds on the last day of the match.
There is a short turnaround between the fourth and fifth Tests, with a gap of only three days between them. The IND vs ENG 5th Test will begin on July 31, Thursday, at The Oval.
With such a short gap between the two Tests and the England bowlers weary and absorbed, the hosts are expected to make multiple changes to their pace attack.
Chris Woakes has bowled the most overs in this series (167), Brydon Carse the second-most (155), and Ben Stokes the fourth-most (140). Jofra Archer, who replaced Josh Tongue in the third Test, has played two matches in a row and might not be risked for a third game in a row.
IND vs ENG: England add Jamie Overton to squad for 5th Test
England have added pace-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton to their squad for the 5th Test against India at the Oval. Overton has played only one Test in his career, which was in 2022.
England also have Gus Atkinson in their squad. Atkinson, who has recovered from a hamstring injury, proved his fitness by playing for Surrey’s 2nd XI last week.
It is even possible that all three of Woakes, Archer, and Carse could be rested from the 5th Test, with Atkinson, Tongue, and Overton in the spares. Stokes himself is unlikely to bowl as much as he did in Manchester.
He had hinted at getting in “fresh legs” for the fifth Test, which India need to win to level the series.
Stokes said in Manchester, “These recovery days are going to be pretty important, and we might have to make a few decisions to get some fresh legs in. But that won’t be decided until we get closer to the last game.”
“If you look at how long we’ve been out in the field and the overs that we bowled as a bowling unit, everyone is going to be pretty sore and pretty tired going into the last game of the series. There’ll be an assessment of everyone, and hopefully we can use these next two or three days’ rest period wisely and then have to make a decision.”
IND vs ENG: England squad for 5th Test
Ben Stokes (C), Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes
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