Despite an injury scare, Ollie Pope has been retained in England’s squad for the third Test of the ongoing Ashes 2023. Soon after their defeat in the Lord’s Test on Sunday, July 2, England named a 15-man squad for the third game which will be played at Headingley starting Thursday, July 6. Notably, Pope batted in both innings of the second Test despite a shoulder injury.
The 25-year-old is reportedly set to undergo scans and might miss out on the upcoming game if the results aren’t promising. If he misses out, England will have to go with Dan Lawrence, the only batter from the squad who could replace Pope. Moeen Ali was left out of the playing combination for the second game due to his injury but will be expected to make a comeback in the forthcoming game.
England had added Rehan Ahmed to the squad ahead of the second Test, but the youngster has been dropped for the third game, hinting at Moeen’s likely return. England have included Chris Woakes and Mark Wood in the squad, who will be the seam-bowling options apart from the four frontline seamers who participated in the Lord’s Test.
England have faced a massive setback in the Ashes 2023 series, having lost the opening Test at Edgbaston as well as the second Test at Lord’s. Both games were hard-fought, and the visitors clinched a victory on the final day of the game. While Pat Cummins’ heroics helped Australia bag a victory in Birmingham, the bowlers worked in tandem in the second game to help Australia get a 2-0 lead.
One more victory will ensure Australia retains the Ashes, but the hosts will be aiming to bounce back stronger in order to win the remaining three Tests.
England squad for third Ashes Test: Ben Stokes (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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