IND vs ENG: Ollie Robinson makes way for Mark Wood for Dharamsala Test; James Anderson retains place
England have announced their Playing XI for the final Test match against India in Dharamsala as Mark Wood returns to the set-up. Ollie Robinson as expected is not part of the Playing XI with England team management retaining faith in veteran James Anderson.
The visitors already 3-1 down in the Test series have picked two spinners in what will be a vital Test match in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
Robinson axed, Mark Wood Returns
Robinson was an unused member of the bowling roster on Day 4 of the Ranchi Test despite England having a narrow chance of winning the match. The pacer’s best show came with the bat when he helped England score above 300 and stood by Joe Root who completed his hundred in the fourth match.
He scored 58 runs in the first innings and went without troubling the scorers in the second innings. Robinson ended with figures of 54/0 in his 13 overs in the first innings and was unused in the second innings.
Wood has so far played in two Test matches in the series and has scalped four wickets during the period. He played in the Hyderabad Test where England beat India by 28 runs while he was again in the squad for the Rajkot Test where India were victorious.
The final contest will also see James Anderson in action in what is likely to be his final Test match on Indian soil. Playing in his 187th Test match, Anderson could join Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne as the only bowlers to scalp 700 Test wickets. He is currently on 698 wickets and needs two more to reach the elite club.
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Ben Stokes’ men will operate with two spinners in the form of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir as they try to tackle the Indian batting unit. The batting order remains unchanged for the visitors who will try to get points on the WTC standings with a win in the Dharamsala Test.
Veteran batter Jonny Bairstow will play in his 100th Test match for England, joining another elite club of players.
England Playing XI
1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Tom Hartley, 9 Mark Wood, 10 James Anderson, 11 Shoaib Bashir
