England have announced their XI for the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, making one change to the team that played at Headingley.
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There were reports last week which suggested James Anderson could replace Ollie Robinson for the match, which begins on July 19. The announcement of the side confirmed those reports to be accurate, with Anderson recalled after a one-Test hiatus. That is the only change that England have made from their winning combination at Headingley.
As far as tactical changes are concerned, Moeen Ali will continue to bat at No.3, as he did in the second innings of the last Test match after Harry Brook was moved back down to No.5 after coming in at three for the first innings.
Brook played a significant part in England’s run chase, where he scored 75 off 93 balls to shepherd the side to victory. Moeen, who had volunteered to take up the No.3 role, did not have much of an impact, scoring only five runs before he was bowled by Mitchell Starc.
However, having Moeen at No.3 allows the other batters in the lineup to play from their favoured positions, while also allowing England the opportunity to get ahead of the game early in their batting innings if he gets going. It also allows them to play four seam-bowlers, taking the pressure off Ben Stokes to bowl more overs than his body can manage.
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Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Stuart Broad make up the rest of the bowling lineup, alongside Anderson. Stokes is not expected to bowl during the match to protect his injured knee.
Wood and Woakes both made their first appearance in the series in the third Test match and had massive impacts. Wood took seven wickets and scored 40 runs off 16 balls in the match, while Woakes took six and scored 42 including the winning runs.
England would be hoping that Anderson is able to get back to rhythm at his home ground after going through two quiet matches in the first two games of the series. Broad, his long-time new-ball partner, meanwhile, has been having a successful series and is currently the leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets from three games.
With the series poised at 2-1 in favour of Australia, the Old Trafford Test is another must-win game for the hosts if they are to remain alive in the five-match series.
