IND vs ENG: James Anderson is declared fit and will be playing in the Edgbaston Test against India starting Friday, as England announced their final eleven for the rescheduled fifth Test of the unfinished series from last year which India lead 2-1.
Anderson, England’s leading wicket-taker and most capped Test player, missed the third Test versus New Zealand last week due to an ankle niggle, which paved the way for the Test debut for Jamie Overton.
England Announce Their XI For IND vs ENG
Now, the legendary seamer is fit and back and on expected lines, replaces Overton., despite the debutant scoring 97 in the first innings. Anderson had taken 11 wickets at 18.63 in the first two Tests against the Kiwis to once again remind everyone of his prowess after he and Stuart Broad were looked aside for the West Indies tour under Joe Root.
Opener Zak Crawley, who crossed 30 only once in the six innings vs New Zealand, has been retained in the eleven. However, many feel that if the right-hander flops against India as well, he would be dropped for the next home series, versus South Africa with youngster Harry Brook banging the selection door. Since the start of 2021, Crawley averages a poor 18.53 in 16 Tests with only one century and a couple of fifties.
Sam Billings, who substituted in the Leeds Test as a covid-19 replacement for Ben Foakes, will continue in the role. No information about Foakes’ recovery has been revealed yet.
England XI for the fifth Test vs India:
Alex Less, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Sam Billings, Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
Our XI for the fifth LV= Insurance Test with @BCCI
More here: https://t.co/uXHG3iOVCA
#ENGvIND
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 30, 2022
India, on the other hand, are not sure about the availability of their skipper, Rohit Sharma. Sharma had first tested positive for covid-19 on Saturday and was consequently placed in isolation. He returned another positive result on Wednesday; Dravid said that the skipper will be tested again on Thursday and will need to return a negative result in order to be rendered available for Friday’s fixture.
If Rohit isn’t available, then Jasprit Bumrah, who was the vice-captain during the Sri Lanka Test series, is expected to don the captain’s cap in Edgbaston.
