Mark Wood and Moeen Ali among England shake-up for third men’s Ashes Test

Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali have been named in England’s line-up for the third Ashes Test

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Chris Woakes and Mark Wood have been named in the England side for the third Test against Australia cricket at Headingley.

Moeen Ali was also recalled by Ben Stokes, while there is no place for Josh Tongue or James Anderson.

It had been said before the series that the fast bowlers would be rotated throughout the five-match series, especially due to the congested fixtures, with all games taking place within just six weeks.

Wood was not considered fully fit for the game at Lord’s, which England lost by 43 runs, but has been included.

Ollie Pope was ruled out of the series on Monday, but instead of calling up the spare batter in the squad, Dan Lawrence, England have gone with five bowlers, bolstered by Woakes’ abilities as an all-rounder.

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Jonny Bairstow was named in the team having been promoted to number five, while Harry Brook will bat at three.

England have said that Tongue and Anderson have been rested for the match, which is a must-win clash, after Australia claimed the first two matches of the series.

Woakes has 45 Test caps, but has not played for England since the ill-fated tour of the West Indies in March 2022, which ushered in the change of leadership and the start of the ‘Bazball’ era under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

He has a Test century to his name and a 27.91 average with the bat, as well as 30.73 with the ball.

Chris Woakes has not played for England since March 2022

The addition of both Woakes and Wood would suggest that Stokes is unlikely to be fit enough to contribute with the ball, after his 12-over spell at Lord’s, with even the captain admitting that he has been suffering from an ongoing knee issue.

“I’m not going to lie, last week took it out of me and a big part of what I had to think about was what would be the best team if I didn’t bowl a ball. That was a huge part of my thinking,” he said.

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Ali reversed his retirement from Test cricket ahead of the series following the news that first-choice spinner Jack Leach had sustained a back stress fracture.

He bowled well on his return to the format, but had a finger blister that emerged during the game at Edgbaston and caused the off-spinner problems throughout, leading to him being rested for the Lord’s Test.

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