‘Accha hua Anderson ko drop kar diya’ – Fans react to changes made by England ahead of must-win Headingley Test in Ashes 2023

Amid all the controversy surrounding Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal, it is not to be forgotten that the England side are down in the series with the series line reading 2-0. Despite all the controversies, the English side needs to find a way for getting their act together and fix their team selection so that they can make a momentous comeback into the series.

With the third Test match of the series scheduled to be played on July 6, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, and Moeen Ali will start for England in the third Ashes Test on Thursday at Headingley in lieu of James Anderson, Josh Tongue, and the injured Ollie Pope. The starting lineup was announced just before England captain Ben Stokes spoke to the media at Headingley. His team needs to win to start overcoming a 2-0 deficit after losses at Edgbaston and Lord’s.

Out of the three changes, Anderson’s was the most anticipated. In a dismal start to his ninth Ashes campaign, he has taken three wickets at a strike rate of 75.33. He creates room for Woakes, who, although not having played a home Test since September 2021, is the clear like-for-like replacement due to his record of 94 wickets at 22.63 in England. Additionally, Woakes’ batting prowess can benefit the English squad in the absence of Pope, whose dislocated right shoulder has sidelined him for the summer.

With Essex’s Dan Lawrence the only backup option in their squad, Moeen’s return gives the lower-middle order even more stability, which is another reason why England chose not to replace Pope with another batter. In spite of his lacklustre recent performances, Harry Brook has been given Pope’s position at No.3 as a sign of faith. Despite missing the Lord’s Test due to a cut on the knuckle of his spinning finger, Moeen has been given the all-clear to continue his return to the format.

The extra pace of Wood, meanwhile, grants England a genuine point as in the first two Tests England’s pacer’s speed was among one of the most talked about points. The 33-year-old comes in for young pacer Josh Tongue, who was among the player who showed a spirited display in his first-time appearance of Ashes cricket at Lord’s, where the young speedster finished with five wickets in that particular match which included the big wickets of players like Steve Smith as well as David Warner in both the innings.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Harry Brook, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Mark Wood

Here is how Twitter reacted to the changes made by England ahead of the third Ashes Test: