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LONDON: England have included Jofra Archer in their playing XI for the third Test of the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy against India, marking the fast bowler’s return to red-ball cricket after more than four years.
Archer will make his return to red-ball cricket on Thursday at the iconic Lord’s, the very ground where he made his Test debut back in 2019.
His comeback follows an extended spell on the sidelines due to recurring elbow and back injuries, which had restricted him to white-ball formats in recent years.
However, he recently returned to first-class cricket, bowling 18 overs for Sussex last month, and has now been deemed fit to lead England’s pace attack at Lord’s.
His inclusion comes as England look to bounce back from a heavy 336-run defeat in the second Test at Edgbaston.
Jofra Archer replaces Josh Tongue in the XI, the only change from the previous match. While Tongue is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 11 scalps, he has been expensive, leaking runs at 4.56 per over.
Interestingly, Archer’s return mirrors the circumstances of his 2019 debut when England brought him in after Australia’s Steve Smith dominated with twin hundreds in the opening Ashes Test.
Now, he’s been handed the task of unsettling India’s in-form captain Shubman Gill, who stunned England with scores of 269 and 161 at Edgbaston.
Despite a heavy workload in the first two Tests, Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes retain their places. Carse bowled 77 overs across the two matches and appeared to be dealing with a toe issue during the second Test.
However, captain Ben Stokes dismissed fitness concerns, clarifying that the discomfort was due to his footwear rather than a physical injury.
It’s worth noting that Archer has featured in 13 Tests for England between 2019 and 2021, picking up 42 wickets at an average of 31.04. His most prolific run came in the 2019 Ashes, where he claimed 20 wickets at 20.27.
England Playing XI for 3rd Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.
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