Moeen Ali was benched as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, announced England playing XI for the second Ashes 2023 Test against Australia, to be played at the Lord’s Ground in London from June 28 onwards.
England trails the five-Test series 1-0 after a narrow 2-wicket loss to Australia in the first Test match at Edgbaston.
For the second Ashes Test, which begins on June 28 at Lord’s and features an all-seam playing XI, England has decided to return Josh Tongue. Moeen Ali is out because of a finger injury he picked up in the first match at Edgbaston.
The only alteration to the host team’s starting XI as they seek series parity is Tongue, who struck a second-innings fifer against Ireland earlier this month.
He achieved second-innings figures of 5 for 66 to secure a ten-wicket victory and gave England’s attack a hostile point of differentiation on a slow ground that made it challenging to create opportunities for wicket-taking.
Mark Wood Overlooked As Joe Root Set For Off-Spin Duties At Lord’s
The England team that lost the first Test at Edgbaston by two wickets has only added him. The standout seamers from England’s first Test, Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad have been retained, along with James Anderson, who conceded he wasn’t at his best in his first game after a groin injury.
Due to worries about his match readiness given that he hasn’t bowled in a competitive setting since his time with the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL in April, Mark Wood, England’s fastest bowler, has once again been passed through. The absence of a dedicated spinner is also possibly due to Tongue’s capacity to bowl longer stints.
Joe Root, who took up a lot of the spin-bowling duties at Edgbaston, including 13 overs up to the new ball on the final day, will once again assume that role for the team.
England playing XI for Lord’s Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson
? We can confirm our team for the second Ashes Test match at Lord’s.
Congratulations, Josh Tongue ? #EnglandCricket | #Ashes
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 27, 2023