England announced their playing XI for the fifth and final Test against India on the eve of the match, which kicks off on Thursday, March 7 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Mark Wood has been brought into the bowling attack for the match.
England has gone ahead with the combination of two spinners, Mark Wood and James Anderson, and two frontline spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley. Meanwhile, Joe Root will be an additional spin option. It is to be seen if skipper Ben Stokes will resume bowling in the test. He has teased about the possibility of bowling since the start of the second Test in Vizag.
Meanwhile, Ollie Robinson has been excluded from the squad. He failed to pick up a wicket in the fourth test, bowling 13 overs in the first innings in Ranchi. Mark Wood who will be replacing him, has played two tests so far. He has picked up four wickets at an average of 55.5.
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 6, 2024
We want to win this week: Ben Stokes
England skipper Ben Stokes expressed that they want to win the upcoming test against India in Dharamsala. He added that the results don’t show the progress that they have made. He further stated that the team has evolved massively. Ben Stokes said to the reporters ahead of the fifth test,
“Well, it’s like whenever we play. We want to win this week. If you take the results by themselves youād say weāve gone backwards.”
āBut we havenāt. The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour. Progression doesnāt always show itself with the results,ā the England skipper further added.
England Playing XI for fifth test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir
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