England Unveils XI For 3rd Test Against West Indies

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), on July 25, 2024, unveiled an unchanged playing XI for the third and final Test against England. England leads the 3-Test series 2-0 and will aim for a 3-0 series white-wash when the third Test begins on July 26 at Edgbaston ground in Birmingham.

Ben Stokes’ side grabbed an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with a 241-run victory over the tourists in the second Test at Trent Bridge last week.

England dominated the second Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, winning by 241 runs despite trailing by 31 runs in the first innings. Ollie Pope was named Player of the Match after scoring a brilliant hundred (121) and a half-century (51) in the first and second innings, respectively.

In the second innings, Harry Brook (109) and Joe Root (122) hit dazzling hundreds to lead England to a 384-run advantage in the third innings. With the ball, Chris Woakes was the best bowler in the first innings, taking 4/84 in 28 overs.

In the second innings, Shoaib Bashir emerged as the hero, taking his third five-wicket haul of his career. The 20-year-old became England’s youngest spinner to take five wickets at home. His five-wicket haul (5/41) was also the first at Trent Bridge since Muthiah Muralitharan’s 8/70 in 2006.

England in the hunt for valuable WTC points; the West Indies would hope to avoid a whitewash

The upcoming Test will not be as important for the visitors, but they may torment the English team because they will approach the game with nothing to lose.

Currently ranked at the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-2025 cycle, the Caribbean side will be eager to win and move up the rankings, having won only one of their six matches thus far.

On the other side, the hosts will not only win the series but also advance in the standings. After winning the second Test, Ben Stokes and his team saw some changes in the points table and are now looking to secure their place once more.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir