For the third Ashes Test, England have made a change to their pace bowling department.
England have named their playing XI for the third Ashes Test with one alteration, bringing back fast bowler Josh Tongue in place of Gus Atkinson.
The match will begin next Wednesday in Adelaide. After losing the first two Tests, England announced their XI on Monday.
Atkinson struggled to make an impact in the opening two matches of the five-Test series. He went wicketless in Perth and picked up three wickets across two innings in the pink-ball Test in Brisbane.
Bowling 54 overs across two matches, Atkinson has an average of 78.66 — the worst among England’s bowlers in the series so far. In addition, his pace has dropped noticeably.
As a result, head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have decided to leave out the right-arm pacer, who has taken 66 wickets in 15 Test matches.
Tongue last played a Test in August against India, which was his sixth appearance in the format. So far, he has taken 31 wickets at an average of 30 in Test cricket.
Tongue will feature in the second Test against Australia. In the previous Ashes series, he claimed five wickets at Lord’s, dismissing Steven Smith in both innings of that match.
Overall, Tongue has dismissed Smith four times — once in the 2023 County Championship and once in the most recent season of The Hundred.
Although spinners are expected to get the most assistance in Adelaide, England have once again opted not to include a specialist spinner. As a result, Shoaib Bashir misses out, with Joe Root and Will Jacks set to share the spin duties.
Jacks took one wicket in a single innings in Brisbane. Root did not bowl in Brisbane after delivering just one over in Perth.
England XI for the Adelaide Test
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.
