The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have named a 14-member England squad for the upcoming 4th Ashes 2023 Test against Australia to be played at Old Trafford, Manchester from July 19.
Finally, following a victory at Leeds. England travels to Old Trafford hoping to tie the Ashes in 2023. There are just two Test matches left in the series, and with a 2-1 deficit, each game must be won by the hosts to become only the second side after Sir Don Bradman’s Australians to win an Ashes series from being 0-2 down.
The ECB has decided to give the winning squad another go as Ben Foakes missed out once again England has decided to continue with Jonny Bairstow as the wicketkeeper.
Bairstow’s spot was considered under most threat after a patchy return from injury in which he scored a stunning 78 on the first day of the series, then drop a series of catches, miss a stumping, and see his returns with the bat diminish.
The team composition chosen by England at Headingley, which captain Ben Stokes termed as a "worst case scenario" decision if he was unable to bowl owing to his persistent tendinitis in his knee, seems likely to be maintained.
He did not bowl, and his chances of doing so have not increased since he added groin and gluteal injuries to his long list of ailments.
Ollie Robinson retained his place, despite walking off the field in Headingley after bowling only 13 overs. But it might see him being replaced by James Anderson in the XI, especially with Chris Woakes and Mark Wood making an instant impact on the series at Headingley.
As for the batting, it remains to be seen whether Harry Brook continues to bat at no.3 like he did in 1st innings of the third Test. However, he scored a match-winning 75 when he returned to his no.5 position with Moeen Ali being promoted to the no.3 spot.
England report to Manchester on Sunday, ahead of the Test beginning on Wednesday.
England squad for the fourth Test in Manchester:
Ben Stokes, (C), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
(ECB inputs)
