England have added pace-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton to their squad for the Oval Test.
In the ongoing Test series against India, England have made few changes to their bowling attack. But with their pace bowlers showing signs of fatigue after continuous matches, they have brought in fresh blood. Overton returns to the playing XI for the fifth and final Test.
On Monday, England named their 15-man squad for the series decider. Overton is the only new inclusion alongside the players who featured at Old Trafford.
England have largely stuck to a consistent XI throughout the first four Tests, making just two changes so far. After the first two matches, Jofra Archer replaced Josh Tong in the last two games. And when off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was ruled out due to injury at Lord’s, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson came in for the fourth Test.
Pace bowlers Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse have played every Test so far, as has captain Ben Stokes, who is also a pace-bowling all-rounder. Woakes has bowled the most overs in the series with 167, closely followed by Carse with 155 and Stokes with 140. Archer recently returned after four years out of Test cricket.
The last match at Old Trafford was physically demanding for England’s bowlers, who bowled a combined total of 257.1 overs across both innings. The match ended in a draw on Sunday. After the game, Stokes admitted the bowling unit looked tired and suggested that fresh players might be needed for the next Test.
“If you look at how long we’ve been out there and how many overs we’ve bowled as a bowling unit, it’s clear everyone will be pretty tired and uncomfortable going into the last match. Everyone’s condition will be assessed. Hopefully, we can use the next two or three days of rest wisely and then make a decision.”
“These recovery days are very important. We may need to make some decisions about bringing someone new in. But we won’t make any calls until closer to the final match.”
For the upcoming Test at The Oval, England may rest Woakes. In his place, they could play Gus Atkinson, who has fully recovered from a hamstring injury. Atkinson proved his fitness last week playing for the second XI.
Josh Tong, England’s second-highest wicket-taker in the series with 11 wickets, is also likely to return to the side. And Overton, who was called up, might get a chance to play.
Overton has played just one Test so far, three years ago against New Zealand. However, he is a regular in first-class cricket, having played 98 matches and taken 237 wickets. He has taken five wickets in an innings six times.
With the bat, Overton can contribute useful runs. He has scored a century and 13 fifties, accumulating 2,401 runs in first-class cricket.
The final Test between England and India begins on Thursday.
England’s squad for the fifth Test
Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jack Crawley, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tong, Chris Woakes.
